Turning the Valve at the Rio Bosque

Picture by Victor Calzada, El Paso Times

After thirteen years with no reliable water during the growing season, John Sproul, Manager of the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park, turned the valve to release water from EPWU's Bustamante Waste Water Treatment Plant this past Friday morninng. 

Read the El Paso Times headline front page story. Watch the KVIA News video.

Picture by Victor Calzada, El Paso Times

Plan to Attend and Support the Rio Bosque

Please plan to attend and speak out for the pipeline to be extended from the Bustamante Treatment Plant to the Rio Bosque without further delay:

El Paso County Water Improvement District #1 Board Meeting
Wednesday, January 14, 2015 at 8:30 AM
13247 Alameda Avenue, Clint, TX 79836-0749 (MAP)

Here's the background:


In July 2014, El Paso Water Utilities (EPWU) Public Service Board awarded the contract for a pipeline to allow effluent form BWWTP (Bustamante Waste Water Treatment Plant) to flow to the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park.  Construction of the pipeline is almost complete except for where it would cross a drain owned by EPCWID#1. The drain, abandoned for at least 30 years, has been filled in and is nonexistent in the area of the pipeline. Without a license to cross the drain from EPCWID#1, the project will be delayed increasing the costs and unnecessarily complicating the pipeline design. 

EPWU owns the effluent from the RBWWTP which produces an average of 28 million gallons per day, but they have no facilities to hold that water.  Once water enters infrastructure owned by EPCWID#1, as happens today without the pipeline, the water belongs to EPCWID#1.

In the early 1990s Rio Bosque Wetlands Park was identified as the preferred site for a wetland project to mitigate for natural habitat loss caused by the American Canal Extension.  The wetland project at the Park was designed to utilize effluent from the adjacent BWWTP.  Currently, the Park only receives water from BWWTP for a few months in the winter.  To realize its potential for critical habitat restoration, ecosystem services, aquifer recharge, and economic benefit from eco-tourism, the Wetlands Park needs water.

Wetlands ecosystem services provide a myriad of benefits to El Pasoans including clean air, clean water, and aesthetic, cultural and spiritual value. Services provided by wetlands include stormwater storage, nutrient removal and climate regulation.  Using extremely conservative estimates by Robert Costanza, Professor of Public Policy at the Crawford School of Public Policy, the value of the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park ecosystem services would be over $1 million per year.  Using data from the nonprofit independent research group, Headwaters Economics, elpasonaturally (30 September 2011) estimates that the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park could bring $18 million in Eco-Tourism dollars to El Paso. 


Farmers benefit from having water in the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park because it will recharge the aquifer they pump from to irrigate their fields.  The water from the BWWTP will improve the quality of the water in the aquifer which according to Art Ivey is so salty, "We're pouring poison on our [pecan] trees.”  (El Paso Times, 15 Dec 2014).  There is also the possibility of extending the pipeline to a proposed regulating reservoir immediately south of the Park which will capture “tail” water and make it available to farmers.

The Water District maintains that they have reasons to extort money from the EPWU concerns about the project which need to be addressed. John Balliew, CEO of EPWU, says that they are trying to respond to those concerns so that the pipeline can be put on the water district agenda soon. That agenda item has been effectively tabled since the October meeting.

Question to raise: What are the concerns that they have about the pipeline going across abandoned, unused land? (Question for John Balliew and the PSB/EPWU: Why did you not know in the first place that you didn't need easement across this land?)

In spite of State law requiring the water district to post agendas and minutes, the EPCWID#1 still does not do so. No agenda for tomorrow's meeting is posted on their website anywhere.

Several members of the El Paso conservation community plan to attend tomorrow. A letter from State Rep. Joe Moody (District 78) in support of the pipeline will be read.

Stalled!

Stalled!

A simple request by the EPWU to have an easement across an abandoned water drain owned by the El Paso County Water Improvement District has been delayed now for months because the water district board won't act on it. EPWU wants to provide water for the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park from the Bustamante water treatment plant; but the water district has stalled the pipeline project and done so without accountability or transparency. (Read Judy Ackerman's post on the subject HERE.)

The water district had the matter on their October 2014 agenda. It went into executive session and never made it out. The matter was not brought up in November and December. In answers to pleas to allow the easement, District Manager Chuy Reyes only says that he is working on an agreement with John Balliew. It appears that Reyes wants to dictate when and how much water will go to the wetlands as a condition for the agreement. 

It is difficult to understand what goes on behind the closed doors of an executive session especially one so tightly controlled by a clandestine coterie: the water district board. In addition to their lack of public accountablily and transparency is their violation of Texas State Law by failing to post all of their agendas and minutes online. Just take a look at their gaps in posted minutes.

The Board meets the second Wednesday of each month at 8:30 AM in Clint, TX. There next meeting then will be January 14, 2015. The address for the water district office and board meetings is 13247 Alameda Avenue.  It may be a long drive but worthwhile to press the water district board to act on an easement with the EPWU and to do so without any conditions.

Why Is the Rio Grande Pipeline Stalled?

El Paso wetlands park has no water!  The pipeline to pass water from the Bustamante Waste Water Treatment Plant (BWWTP) to the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park is on hold.  Most of the project is done, but there is a gap where the pipeline crosses an abandoned drain owned by El Paso County Water Improvement District #1 (EPCWID#1).   To complete the pipeline as designed, El Paso Water Utilities (EPWU) needs a license from EPCWID#1, to cross their drain. 

In the early 1990s, Rio Bosque Wetlands Park was identified as the preferred site for a wetland project to mitigate for natural habitat loss caused by the American Canal Extension.  The wetland project at the Park was designed to utilize effluent from the adjacent BWWTP.  Currently, the Park only receives water from BWWTP for a few months in the winter.  To realize its potential for critical habitat restoration, ecosystem services, aquifer recharge, and economic benefit from eco-tourism, the Wetlands Park needs water.

Water in the Rio Bosque will recharge our aquifer benefiting farmers and all El Pasoans.  The water from the BWWTP will improve the quality of the water in the aquifer which according to Art Ivey, EPCWID#1 Vice President, is so salty, "We're pouring poison on our [pecan] trees.”  (El Paso Times, 15 December 2014).  There is also the possibility of extending the pipeline to a proposed regulating reservoir immediately south of the Park which will capture “tail” water and make it available to farmers.

Wetlands ecosystem services provide a myriad of benefits to El Pasoans including clean air, clean water, and esthetic, cultural and spiritual values.  Services provided by wetlands include stormwater storage, nutrient removal and climate regulation.  Using extremely conservative estimates by Robert Costanza, Professor of Public Policy at the Crawford School of Public Policy, the value of the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park ecosystem services would be over $1 million per year.  Using data from the nonprofit independent research group, Headwaters Economics, ElPasoNaturally (30 September 2011) estimates that the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park could bring $18 million in Eco-Tourism dollars to El Paso. 

The Rio Bosque Wetlands Park is a tremendous classroom in the open.  Visiting children learn critical STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) skills and, if there is water, graduate students utilize the Park for scientific research projects.

In July 2014, EPWU Public Service Board awarded the $1.1 million contract for construction of the pipeline (BWWTP) to the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park.  The project should have been completed by 26 December 2014.  Now, instead of delivering water to the Park, the pipeline is stalled because EPCWID#1 has not issued a license to cross its drain - a drain that is non-functional and has been abandoned for more than 30 years. 

To complete the pipeline, EPWU could bypass the EPCWID#1 land, but that would unnecessarily complicate the pipeline, make it significantly longer, cause additional delays and increase the cost all EPWU ratepayers.

EPWU owns the effluent from the BWWTP, but they have no facilities to hold that water.  Once water enters infrastructure owned by EPCWID#1, as happens today without the pipeline, the water belongs to EPCWID#1.  According to the 2001 Implementing Third-Party Contract, BWWTP delivers 13,333 acre-feet of water to EPCWID#1 each year.  But EPCWID#1 actually receives about 31,000 acre-feet per year, nearly all that BWWTP produces.

Could it be EPCWID#1 wants control of when and how much water enters the pipeline, before they license an easement across their abandoned drain?  EPCWID#1 already controls all the water in the Rio Grande.  Maybe they want to be sure they also control water that belongs to all El Pasoans. 

- Judy Ackerman

Pipeline to Bosque Schedule

Why it takes longer for public entities to get from A to Z is a mystery to me. Perhaps someone knows. Many have anxiously awaited for a long time to see the schedule for a pipeline from the Bustamante to Rio Bosque Wetlands Park. EPWU CEO John Balliew has been pushing on and for this for a long time. Thank you, Mr. Balliew! Here it is:

Do click on the image to enlarge and give 3 cheers.

Rio Bosque News Is Better than Imagined

I had the opportunity to speak in person with Mr. John Balliew, the CEO of the El Paso Water Utilities this morning. The topic of conversation was the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park. Our visit followed my Monday blog post More Good News for the Rio Bosque. The post raised some anxieties among members of the conservation community. 

To help visualize what I'm going to say, take a look at the map below. You will definitely want to enlarge it (maybe in a different tab) and refer back to it:

Rio Bosque Wetlands Aerial Map 

The map shows the relationship among the Bustamante Treatment Plant on the right, the Rio Bosque in the center and the Socorro Ponds/Reservoir on the left. The Socorro Reservoir is the project that Mr. Chuy Reyes and his engineer both from the El Paso County Water Improvement District #1 proposed to the PSB this past Wednesday. They have worked out an arrangement with the EPWU for ponding areas to reserve water for El Paso County farmers. Currently, stormwater moves down the river past our County and to the Hudspeth County reservoirs. Because of the arrangement, the WID#1 will be able to capture that water for our farmers and owe water back to the EPWU. (The EPWU owns the land where the ponds will be.) The water owed back to the EPWU will be used to help irrigate the Rio Bosque.

The red line on the bottom of the map indicates where a pipeline will go from the Bustamante to the Socorro Ponds. It is the extension of that pipeline that has delayed going to bid since the pipeline will also be part of the relationship among the ponds, the Bosque and the Bustamante.

Bottom line: the Rio Bosque will have 3 sources not just 2 for water: directly from the Bustamante, from the turnout at the Riverside Canal as it currently gets from the WID#1, and now water from the ponds owed to EPWU by the WID#1.

One big concern that some had as the result of Monday's post was the TCEQ authorization. The new authorization (now being finalized) mentions nothing about "effluent" only Type I and Type II reclaimed water. Balliew explained that "effluent" often is Type II reclaimed water as its turbidity and bacterial counts are low enough to be re-categorized. In other words, what may be called effluent, is most often Type II water that the TCEQ will permit to go to the Bosque. Note again that the new authorization allows for water from the Bustamante to be used for the irrigation of "constructed wetlands".

But the news just gets better. The EPWU has already begun working with the Army Corps of Engineers to produce a wetland park at the Rio Bosque much like the Rio Grande Valley State Park in Albuquerque. (You can still see online an initial presentation of this Corps of Engineers project from 2010 complete with a virtual tour.) Add to this vision of the Bosque another one: the EPWU is acquiring other drains so that one day you may indeed enjoy walking along a parkway from Ascarate to the Bosque.

A final P.S. about an EPWU project I get super-excited about: Our utility has become quite successful conserving water; and let us hope that they conserve much more and that the City will indeed move toward some enlightened rainwater strategies that will help even more and perhaps to codifying truly water savings building practices.  A downside of that success though is the fact that they are selling less of their product thus making staying in business, so to speak, more difficult. Mr. Balliew has proposed new products: producing phosphorous and nitrogen for commercial use. Currently EP farmers purchase millions of dollars of fertilizer. Also currently, most of the nitrogen and phosphorous available from water treatment is lost. Capture it. Sell it. Voilá! New products. Balliew and company are working on it. Now, if only the TCEQ (and EPA) would allow the use of the effluent "cake", rather than being forced to bury that product that also contains needed soil micronutrients, local growing industries could benefit. I say this as one who has asked for years now why we don't sell Zoo Doo as they do in Seattle for example.

Again, the news at and for the Rio Bosque just gets better and better.

More Good News for the Rio Bosque

More good news for the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park.

The El Paso Water Utilities has received a draft authorization from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality which will allow water from the Bustamante Treatment Plant to go to the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park. 

Here is the draft agreement. Note the language on the first page that Type I and Type II reclaimed water will be used for the irrigation of "constructed wetlands" - e.g., the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park.

Authorization for Reclaimed Water

EPWU has responded with some minor typographical corrections. The TCEQ should respond with a signed final copy in about two weeks. EPWU CEO John Balliew says that, once he receives the final copy, he will "immediately give them [TCEQ] a 45 day notice that we will begin transferring water to the RB [Rio Bosque] - even though it will take longer to build the line."

There has been concern within the environmental community that nothing was actually getting done to get water to the Bosque from the Bustamante. The pipeline has not yet gone out to bid. Changes suggested by the PSB in the design of the pipeline has caused the delay. Nevertheless the process, though slower than expected, is continuing. The new authorization is proof of the seriousness and sincerity of Balliew and the EPWU regarding a committment to the Bosque. The process is not a Hail Mary if you will; but a slow, methodical working the ball down the field, avoiding mistakes and penalties while doing so. A touchdown is pretty much certain and the environmental fans are sure to roar delightedly when the ball crosses the goal line.

Recently anxiety levels increased over an item on this coming Wednesday's PSB agenda. Item #5 is a proposal by the Water Improvement District #1 for additional surface water (not effluent) that will come from the construction of a regulating reservoir where the old Socorro wastewater plant was located. Some identified this item as a possible alternative to the pipeline from the Bustamante and there was speculation whether the length of time to begin the pipeline project wasn't a stall in order to slip in something more favorable to the WID#1. CEO John Balliew responds: "It does not have anything to do with wastewater effluent or the Rio Bosque. The Rio Bosque line will still be built."

It would be good for the environmental community to dial back its distrust and paranoia buttons just a bit. Good things are happening albeit slowly - but they are happening. Balliew has been good to his word. It might help to remember that this is the guy who recently authorized an environmental policy that protects wildlife by doing EPWU projects in accordance with habitat schedule. By itself, that was a huge victory for local ecology and the environment.

In fact, at the next PSB meeting (Wednesday, January 15, 2014), consideration will be given to award a contract to CMD Endeavors to clean up the organic sediment at the Charl Ann Pond off Doniphan in the Upper Valley. (See background material for Item #14.) CMD will be using a technique that unobtrusively removes the sediment through a vacuuming process. Their work schedule was determined in consultaion with wildlife biologist, Lois Balin and in accordance with the new policy authorized by Balliew. CMD officials toured the pond recently with members of the public including an experienced birder, James Newlin. Charl Ann pond is a favorite of birders in El Paso and was one of the outdoor birding events of this past fall's Celebration of Our Mountains. Here is a video of the technique:



Muchas gracias, John Balliew.

Call for Action: Help the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park

Below is a letter from Sal Quintanilla, President of the Friends of the Rio Bosque. He is asking us to email PSB members and/or attend the PSB meeting on Wednesday, November 13. At issue is building a pipeline from the Bustamante treatment plant to the Rio Bosque in order to provide much needed irrigation. 


Dear Friends of the Rio Bosque,

You know what a wonderful place we have in the City of El Paso’s largest park – the 372-acre Rio Bosque Wetlands Park.   In 1997, a project intended to create wetland habitat was launched at this park to mitigate for impacts associated with building and operating the concrete-lined American Canal Extension next to the Rio Grande in El Paso.  The Rio Bosque is a tremendous asset to El Paso and could be more so, IF it only had water.  The El Paso Public Service Board (PSB) will decide whether to build a pipeline to bring effluent from the Bustamante Waste Water Treatment Plant (BWWTP) to water the Park.  You can check the PSB website on Friday 8 Nov for the agenda.  Please plan to attend the PSB meeting on Wednesday 13 Nov, starting at 8 am at 1154 Hawkins Blvd, El Paso, Texas and sign up to make public comments.  Also, please contact all PSB members to explain why El Paso should have a wet Rio Bosque Wetlands Park and urge them to vote “Yes”.  PSB members’ e-mails are below and additional background information is attached.

What would El Pasoans gain by having water in our Wetlands Park?  Instead of giving away 80 to 90 acre feet of effluent each day, for free, we could store that life-sustaining water in our own aquifer (see attached Malcolm Pirnie Arcadis Bullets).  Bird watchers and outdoor recreation enthusiasts would come from far and wide and Elpasonaturally estimates that the Rio Bosque could bring $18 million in Eco-Tourism dollars to El Paso.  Educational opportunities abound in a wetlands park where our youth can experience nature, be inspired to study Science and become more involved with our community.  Graduate level UTEP students could conduct aquatic research at the Park and bring grant money to our area.  El Paso Water Utilities is already world renowned for water conservation and education and could also be a shining example of how to restore wetland and riparian habitat in the desert. Ecosystem services provide a myriad of benefits to mankind including clean air, clean water, and esthetic, cultural and spiritual value.  Services provided by wetlands include stormwater storage, nutrient removal and climate regulation.  Using extremely conservative estimates by highly regarded researchers, Robert Costanza et al, the value of the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park ecosystem services would be over $1.7 million per year.  Please urge PSB members to bring these gains to El Paso by building the pipeline from the BWWTP to the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park enhancing this resource for future generations.

Sincerely,
Sal Quintanilla 
President, Friends of the Rio Bosque
915-778-0274

Name                                                 Email Address

Dr. Richard T. Schoephoerster           rschoephoerster@epwu.org
Ruth Katherine Brennand                   rkbrennand@epwu.org
Dr. David C. Nemir                              dcnemir@epwu.org
Dr. Richard C. Bonart                          rcbonart@epwu.org
Henry Gallardo                                    hgallardo@epwu.org
Terri Garcia                                          tgarcia@epwu.org
Mayor Oscar Leeser                             oleeser@epwu.org
President and CEO John Balliew         jeballiew@EPWU.org


Attachment:
Rio Bosque Bullet Points by Malcolm Pirnie Arcadis

Rainwater Harvesting Would Make a Better Study for UTEP

An expert hydrologist and engineer gave this analysis of the proposed UTEP reclaimed water project/boondoggle: 

"Because of the large area of buildings, sidewalks, bedrock, run on from the campus arroyo and parking lots relative to the green areas, it is straight forward to meet all of UTEP’s landscape watering needs with stormwater (rainwater harvesting) at a cost that is insignificant relative to the proposed plant. The water would also be of much higher quality (very low TDS). Unless there are some hidden cost savings that haven’t been mentioned this appears to be a product of a) poor economic analysis and b) an outdated concept of the water budget, c) typical El Paso politics. We need to move into the future, not optimize yesterday’s solutions."

TDS by the way stands for Total Dissolved Solids. "A high concentration of TDS is an indicator that harmful contaminants, such as iron, manganese, sulfate, bromide and arsenic, can also be present in the water." [Safe Drinking Water Foundation publication]. Arsenic is an issue in El Paso water and may be more so at UTEP which abuts where ASARCO once belched the element.

The project proposed for UTEP could very well take place at the Bustamante plant and could help the Rio Bosque Wetlands park. The Center for Environmental Resource Management (CERM) at UTEP is tasked with water initiatives and it is the same department that already manages the Rio Bosque, now a part of the EPWU inventory.

Speaking about the Rio Bosque: Is doing something there just talk by the EPWU to calm the savages of the environmental community? PSB member, Dr. Rick Bonart, explained: 

"At the February meeting we talked about the Rio Bosque. A formal motion was made to authorize the President and CEO to design and build a pipeline from Bustamante to Rio Bosque to convey either reclaimed H2O or effluent.

"I asked CEO John Balliew how much and how long to do the project.  The anwser: $440,000 and 6 months.

"At the last PSB meeting call to public a member of the public asked when this would be done and Mr. Balliew said it would be on this month's agenda."

Here's the agenda for this Wednesday. Anyone see anything about the Bosque?

Item 3 is about the so-called UTEP Centennial Project.  This message is making the email rounds:

"This Wednesday the PSB will be deciding to fund a request from UTEP to provide a packaged plant to make reclaimed water on campus for use on the campus. Evidently, UTEP is expecting all the rate payers in El Paso to subsidize this project which is primarily to benefit watering some landscaping at Miner Village, Centennial Plaza,  and for the replacement of grass to the Sun Bowl. This seems like a very elitist and preferential burden for all rate payers. Supposedly it is to be a research project for UTEP, but it will be subsidized not by the University or its system, but by local rate payers. As a research project, this researcher asks, 'What is the hypothesis? What is the need? What are the variables? and What prior research does this come out of.'  Whose idea was this anyway?

"I encourage you to attend the PSB meeting this Wednesday and hear what the justifications are for this? There are too many inconsistencies and lack of community participation for this to slide through."

The regular meeting of the Public Service Board will be held at 8:00 a.m., Wednesday, September 11, 2013, at the Public Service Board Meeting Room, 1154 Hawkins Boulevard, El Paso, Texas. Map

Check out David Crowder's story at the Inc.: Questions about UTEP water plant: PSB member says project is waste of money

Pipeline to Bosque Under Design and Lessons Learned

Click on image to enlarge.

Three bits of good news that should be shouted from atop every peak on the Franklin Mountains: 

First, the El Paso Water Utilities does have direct right-of-way access into the Rio Bosque.

Second, plans to build a direct pipeline from the Bustamante Treatment Plant to the Rio Bosque for the purpose of supplying effluent is being designed.

Third, Water Improvement District Mis-Manager, Chuy Reyes, not only can do nothing about it, he is irrelevant in the process.

Let's take a look.

In the very bottom far left triangle in the map above, the Park and the treatment plant abut each other at the Riverside Drain. Recognizing this fact and having spoken with Mr. Reyes, environmental activist, Judy Ackerman, wrote to the CEO of the EPWU:

"Thank you very much for all the efforts of EPWU to create a direct connection from the Bustamante WWTP to El Paso’s Rio Bosque Wetlands Park that will allow the opportunity for waste water to be utilized at the Park in the future. The Park needs the water.  Several of the Park’s mature trees have died this season due to lack of water.

"By the end of July, El Paso County Water Improvement District # 1, should have received more than 13,333 Acre Feet [the amount actually varies as I understand it based on how much is released from Elephant Butte during any given season - though I could stand to be corrected] of effluent from the Bustamante WWTP  – the amount obligated to them by the Third Party Contract.   Any remaining BWWTP effluent, between now and 15 Feb 2014, is EPWU’s to utilize as you choose.  If you directed that effluent into the Riverside Intercepting Drain, instead of the Riverside Canal, it would be available to the Bosque.  

"Mr Jesus 'Chuy' Reyes is on record saying he will cooperate fully with EPWU to deliver effluent to the Bosque via the Riverside Intercepting Drain if you choose to utilize your effluent that way.   Here is a link to audio clips of my conversation with Mr Reyes on 23 Oct 2012.

"I encourage you to send BWWTP effluent to the Bosque as soon as possible since it will greatly benefit EPWU, the Park, El Pasoans, and visitors from far and wide.  Thank you for considering this option."

In a swift rebuke, Mis-Manager Reyes caustically replied:

"I don't know where you are getting your calculations from, but you have no authority or are you or the Bosque in anyway connected to our agreement with our 2001 contract with EPWU. EP#1 will continue to use the effluent water for irrigation of crops until late SEPTEMBER [emphasis his]."

So, what caused Ackerman to believe that she had heard otherwise from Mr. Reyes?  The interviews on the audio clips that she mentions: 






On record, Mr. Reyes says: "It's their [EPWU's] water. What they do with it is their business." And: "I'm willing to cooperate with them [EPWU] in anyway..." Note that he never disputes that one-third of the effluent belongs to the EPWU even during irrigation season. Note that he agrees that, even if all the water goes into the drain, one-third could be pumped to the Rio Bosque Wetland Park as directed solely by the EPWU even during irrigation season. Note that he suggests that the EPWU build some direct line to the Bosque. (Deal! It's in design.) Note that, when Ms. Ackerman honestly and innocently writes John Balliew with the facts after having spoken to Mr.Reyes, Mr. Reyes lambasts her claim! Note the audio tapes. Note who is honest and note who is obviously dis-honest.

Lessons to learn:

First, Mr. Chuy Reyes is irrelevant to talks about supplying water to the Rio Bosque from the Bustamante plant.

Second, it seems to be the case that for a long time there were some backroom handshakes and winks of eyes between the EPWU and the WID. There is now new management at the EPWU. All deals between the EPWU and the WID should be made public and transparent.

Third, other than buying water from the WID and other contractual agreements, the EPWU should have as little to do with Mr. Reyes and the WID as possible. Winks and handshakes no longer count (and the old ones should be accounted for.)

Fourth and finally, some in El Paso's environmental community should cease acting as if Mr. Reyes matters at all regarding the Rio Bosque.  This means that they can speak out when Mr. Reyes destroys habitat and vegetation during nesting season as he has been doing in the Upper Valley. He's not a friend. He's not useful. He's the Manager of a Water District operated under antiquated laws about water rights and rights of capture that really should be the hot-button issues for conservationists along with protecting habitat and the natural open space of our mountains and Chihuahuan Desert.

El Cucuy is no longer scary, boys and girls.

Rio Bosque Has Water!

From John Sproul:

Just before 9 a.m. this morning, staff at the Roberto Bustamante Wastewater Treatment Plant switched the discharge of the plant’s effluent from the Riverside Canal to the Riverside Drain.  By 10 a.m., when my Introductory Tour group reached the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park inlet, water was just beginning to enter the park.  By 12:30 p.m., the water had advanced ~400 meters in the old river channel within the park, negotiating its way through piles of tumbleweeds deposited by yesterday’s windstorm. 

This is the first delivery of effluent to the park in 287 days. 

All of the Bustamante effluent is currently going to the Riverside Drain, and we are diverting as much as possible to the park.  A lot of the water is going to soak in initially, but some should start reaching the park’s wetland cells soon. 

Other Rio Bosque water news:

• On Tuesday 13 November, the U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission is scheduled to begin construction of the short diversion channel needed to deliver water from the planned turnout on the Riverside Canal to the old river channel in the park.  Once the diversion channel is complete, El Paso County Water Improvement District #1 will install the turnout. 

• On Wednesday 14 November, the City of El Paso’s Public Service Board will meet, starting at 9 a.m.  Item 9 on its agenda (attached) is:

9. Consider and adopt a Joint Resolution between the City of El Paso and the El Paso Water Utilities – Public

Service Board concerning the transfer of the Rio Bosque Park from the City to the management and control of

the Public Service Board and the assignment of the License Agreement between the City and the University of

Texas at El Paso to the Public Service Board.

If adopted by both the PSB and the City Council, the joint resolution (attached) would place Rio Bosque in the PSB’s land inventory.  El Paso Water Utilities could then deliver some water from the Bustamante Plant to the park year-round as part of EPWU operations and without cost to UTEP.  The management direction for the park would not change.  Rio Bosque would continue to be a public park, and UTEP would continue to be the site manager. 

John Sproul

Manager, Rio Bosque Wetlands Park

Center for Environmental Resource Management

University of Texas at El Paso

500 West University Ave.

El Paso, TX  79968-0684

915-747-8663 office

915-861-4361 cell

jsproul@utep.edu

www.riobosque.org

Why Is the EPWU Pouring Water Down the Drain for Free?

Something really dramatic happened at Wednesday’s don’t miss PSB meeting: it was disclosed by a representative of the consulting group Malcolm Pirnie/Arcadis that water could be provided to the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park now! For $440,000! No permit required!

Currently, EPWU (our water utility) is dumping 11,000 acre feet of water back into the hands of the El Paso County Water District #1 yearly from the Bustamante Waste Water Treatment Plant. So you know just one acre foot is 325,851 gallons of water. Just do the math. 11,000 acre feet of water is approximately 3.6 billion gallons of water/year!  Conservatively, the Bosque needs 3,500 acre feet and that’s not taking into account how much would be lost to evaporation, transpiration, and aquifer recharge. Whatever – it’s water that could be available now for a $440,000 “fix” according to Fred Bloomberg who presented the Malcolm Pirnie/Arcadis feasibility study for supplying water to the Bosque – a study which seemed at first to focus on a more complicated scheme involving the Bustamante and Jonathan Rogers treatment plants.

When I say that the water utility is dumping 11,000 acre feet of water back into the hands of the water improvement district, I mean that it is giving that water to them for free.  Yet, when it was disclosed that a simple $440,000 fix would provide the Bosque with the water it sorely needs now, CEO Archuleta said that the Rio Bosque would have to pay an estimated $1Million per year for the water. Let’s see now. We are currently giving 11,000 acre feet of water to the water district for free – that’s $7.7Million in water asset we are giving away – and we want to charge for 3,500 acre feet that we are currently dumping. This is akin to a poor beggar coming to someone and asking for a third of their garbage and being told that he must pay for what will be dumped for nothing anyway! Thank heavens for Mayor John Cook who pointed out that the EPWU would be charging the Bosque for water that it is giving away to the water district for free now!

The larger project involving the Bustamante and Rogers Treatment plants has, according to Malcolm Pirnie, a $78Million price tag.  Amortized at 4% for 20 years the cost would be $5,743,000/year. That’s $114,860,000 total.  You wouldn’t want to do this but . . . $440,000 amortized at 4% for 20 years is only a little over $32,000 per year.  

EPWU CFO, Marcela Navarette, stated that the WID was doing EPWU a favor by taking the 11,000 acre feet even if the water district turns around and sells that water downstream. A favor! El Paso City parks alone took 5,000 acre feet of water this year. (Imagine that number when all the new park ponds are completed and more are added as hinted to City Council by City Engineer, Alan Shubert.) EPWU got about 27,000 acre feet of water from the Rio Grande this year. (They have rights to 70,000 acre feet but there’s a drought you will recall.)  So Parks and Recreation uses almost one-fifth of the total river water allowance this year and now plans extra irrigation this winter because of a program to over-seed with rye grass. That 11,000 acre feet of water we give away to the WID for nothing (and the WID then re-sells) would sure come in handy.

Here are some more numbers to swallow. In an earlier elpasonaturally post, it was pointed out that, if only El Paso would help the Bosque be all that it can be, it would mean $18Million in eco-tourist trade based on results at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico. Read Item #3 of the Headwaters Economics fact sheet on the economic benefits of New Mexico’s natural assets.  So, for $440,000, El Paso could be bringing into its economy $18Million smackers a year!

The good news – PSB members are ready to discuss the $440,000 fix at their upcoming Annual Strategic Planning meeting scheduled for Thursday and Friday, October 11 and 12 at 8:00 am at the TecH2O Center.  (Map)  Put these dates and times on your calendar.

Bottom line: there is just no reason not to “fix” things now so that the Bosque immediately gets the yearly water supply it needs. The fact that there has been resistance from the top brass of the EPWU as shown by foot-dragging, elaborate and costly engineering to distract the public from the real easy and cheap fix along with never divulging the truth to the Open Space Advisory Board that has asked and asked leads to one inescapable question: What’s the deal? What’s the undisclosed deal that seems to have been made with the water district? Inquiring minds want to know. And, cabal or no cabal, what the heck is the matter with supplying water now to the Rio Bosque (a potential $18Million asset for El Paso) when that water is literally going down the drain to the Water Improvement District for free?  I’d love to hear from Ed Archuleta, John Balliew or Marcela Navarette.  What’s the deal?

By the way, one Open Space Advisory Board member gave this comment about the easy fix for the Bosque: “We [the Open Space Advisory Board members] were not told about the cheaper $440,000 project cost when Malcolm Pirnie met with us in August nor that there was no need for permitting to do it.  Correct information has either been withheld from or spun at the Open Space Advisory Board.” Why? What’s the deal?

The Open Space Advisory Board advises City Council. What does the EPWU not want your elected representatives to know? There’s more to interactions with the EPWU than just land sales so it takes more than just the City’s CFO and Deputy City Manager to gain total transparency of the EPWU’s actions. When EPWU can’t be straight with OSAB, a pair of eyes for City Council, one wonders whether anything the Blue Ribbon Committee recommends will ever be totally successful.

And, remember that this coming Monday (September 17) the Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Committee will meet at 8 a.m. in the City Council chambers. The Committee still needs to do all that it was created to do. Read the blog post. There are some very critical questions yet to be addressed  including Ted Houghton’s  questions about water districts and water importation and Charlie Wakeem’s about open space and the still inadequate way inexpediency was addressed in the most current proposed resolution. The Mayor’s new agenda looks as if the Committee can complete its tasks if the will is there and no inappropriate force is applied to oppose such a closure.

Finally, know that the El Paso City Council is having a special meeting this coming Monday, September 17, at 10 a.m. in the 10^th Floor Conference room to decide whether to ban plastic shopping bags, charge a fee, or enhance recycling. The agenda has an attachment about the issue.

How Much Water?

If you are able, there are 3 big reasons to attend tomorrow’s Public Service Board Meeting at the El Paso Water Utilities Building 1154 Hawkins Blvd. (Map) at 9 a.m. :

First there is Item 13 on the agenda.  Dr. Bill Hutchison will give a presentation on the El Paso Municipal Water Supply: Availability, Development and Management. Read the attachment to the agenda regarding his bio and background with the water utility and his expertise. (BTW, if you use Chrome as your web browser, you will not be able to open any EPWU attachment. You will have to switch to Internet Explorer. I do not know how well other browsers work with the site. EPWU staff does not seem willing to make their site more user friendly to all El Pasoans.) In May 2006, Dr. Hutchison published his doctoral dissertation written at UTEP under the guidance of Dr. John Walton. I understand that Dr. Walton will be in attendance at tomorrow’s PSB meeting.  CEO Archuleta has asked Hutchison to give an overview of regional water resources, groundwater modeling and interpretation, discuss the Far West Texas Water Plan, water districts and their authority, regional modeling and plans for our future.

The issues really are how much water do we have and how much can we count on in the future especially in the context of continuing drought, population growth, continuing sprawl and the impact of global warming and climate change. A good resource to understand the impact of climate change on El Paso is a presentation given by NOAA and National Weather Service meteorologist and forecaster, David Novlan, gave to the Trans-Pecos Chapter of the Texas Master Naturalists last Thursday evening. You can view the slide show that accompanied his talk. Although you don’t have the advantage of his talk, you can learn much by carefully studying each frame.

Part of the EPWU strategy is to begin importation of water from areas east of El Paso in the near future. Because of water shortages all over the state, region, nation and world, pushback from local authorities is going to make importation harder not easier. At the last Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Committee, Ted Houghton made exactly that point. One hopes that he will be heard out about the matter. Witness the politics in Milam County, Texas.  The authority of water districts will trump water use plans. Witness the problem in Odessa, Texas.  Lawsuits to allow New Mexico farmers the right to pump  groundwater near the Rio Grande which will drain what comes to El Paso and the rest of Texas are making their way through the courts.  For its part, New Mexico is struggling with many of the same issues and water wars are shaping up over the Colorado River water. And, let’s not forget Chihuahua.

Bottom line: Dr. Hutchison is a must hear. Let’s hope that he talks straight and does not try to bend things for the EPWU official line. Water is scarce. That scarcity is growing. We need to speak openly and honestly.

Next on the agenda is Item 14, a presentation on the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park by John Sproul. The Bosque is a prime example of things just not making sense – a sign of back room deals and water arithmetic just not checking out.  Effluent is treated at the EPWU’s Bustamante plant.  About 7,800 acre feet of treated effluent water per year which could go to the Bosque gets dumped back into a drain controlled by the Water District and never makes it to the Bosque. (Once in a drain or canal of the Water District, the water belongs to the District.) Although the EPWU purchases river water from the Water District, this treated effluent (which is not river water of course) goes to the district as a freebie. And that’s just the start. The 7800 acre feet is what could go the Bosque.  The average output from Bustamante Waste Water Treatment Plant averages 28 MGD (Million Gallons per Day).  Purple pipe water goes for $.96 per Ccf (a Ccf is 100 cubic feet, or 748 gallons).  (28,000,000 MGD/748 Gal) X $.96 = $35,935/day.  That’s quite a windfall that the Water District gets for free! Why?

Also to divert water from the Bustamante directly to the Bosque requires a modification of a permit with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). (To see the permit go to the Central Registry Query.  Type in Bustamante for Regulated Entity and select wastewater for the program.  Leave all other fields blank.  When the Bustamante WWTP's information comes up on the screen, scroll down to the link for permit number WQ0010408010.  This link will take you to a page from which View Permit allows you to download the permit.) Changing a permit may allow the TCEQ to add more requirements and the EPWU in the past has expressed that they don’t want the hassle.  Or is it a hassle? Many believe that simple political persuasion will make a change of the permit easy. So, why can’t the Bosque get water and why is there seemingly no effort to get water to them from the Bustamante and, instead, to dump water back into canals and drains controlled by the Water District as a free gift to the District?

Which brings us to the third  big reason to attend the PSB meeting tomorrow. Item 15 is a presentation by Malcolm Pirnie/Arcadis on the feasibility of providing reclaimed water to Rio Bosque and on the potential for a potable reuse project using effluent from the Roberto R. Bustamante Wastewater Treatment Plant and the Rio Bosque Wetlands. See the Malcolm Pirnie/Arcadis presentation to OSAB in August. This presentation goes hand in hand with Item 14 and it and Item 14 are part of that place where the rubber hits the road when it comes to Item 13.

Tomorrow is a PSB not to miss.

Finally, another don’t miss meeting is next Monday’s (September 17) meeting of the Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Committee at 8 a.m. in the City Council chambers. The question was whether that Committee would do all that it was created to do. Read the blog post. It seemed that, now that the PSB control of land management is in the bag, other issues about water management, open space and a water use budget might be dropped. Again, TxDOT’s Ted Houghton was raising some powerful questions about water districts and water importation at the last meeting. Are we now going to just drop them? The Mayor’s new agenda may be giving more leeway for completing the Blue Ribbon’s tasks.

Options and Obstacles for Water at the Rio Bosque

Friends of Rio Bosque Board member, Judy Ackerman, has well outlined the options and roadblocks for getting water to the Rio Bosque. Her document is a must read:

Friends of the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park currently see four options to get water to our wetlands park: Effluent from the Bustamante Water Treatment plant, Turnout from the Riverside Drain, a Connection between Basin G and the Riverside Drain, and More wells.

Overview of four Options

1. Effluent from the Bustamante Water Treatment plant.

Cost: NONE

Infrastructure Requirements: NONE

Agreements and legal hurdles: Agreement from El Paso County Water Improvement District Number One (ElP #1)

Drawbacks: Agreement from ElP #1.

2. Turnout from the Riverside Drain.

Cost: ~ $ 10,000

Infrastructure Requirements: The turnout itself, connection to the Old River Channel in the park, and a bridge for the Tornillo Trail.

Agreements and legal hurdles: Donation of water rights and more.

Drawbacks: unknown

3. Connection from Basin G to the Riverside Drain
Cost: unknown

Infrastructure Requirements: Building the connection and more.

Agreements and legal hurdles: unknown

Drawbacks: Could only deliver water when Basin G, Feather Lake, or Feather Lake 2 has storm water.

4. More wells.

Cost: Considerable initial investment and then cost of electricity and maintenance.

Infrastructure Requirements: for drilling wells, and creating appropriate electrical infrastructure.

Agreements and legal hurdles: unknown

Drawbacks: Requires electricity or noisy generators that will need considerable continuing maintenance. Removes water from the Bosque’s groundwater to put on the surface.

More details:

Currently the Bosque is watered by John Sproul with a water trailer owned by the Friends of the Bosque that carries 750 gal. He spends all his available time, all day, 5 days per week, hauling water from the Bustamante Treatment plant to deliver to individual trees and plantings in the park. By this labor intensive process, the Bosque received approximately one acre foot of water in 2011.

There is extensive documentation on water quality improvement, natural habitat and quality of life improvements achieved by utilizing wetlands to processes effluent. The advantages of doing this at the Bustamante Treatment Plant and the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park are beyond measure.

Effluent from the Bustamante Water Treatment plant.

The Bustamante Water Treatment plant is directly adjacent and upstream from the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park. The volume of water from the plant is about 30,000,000 gal / day (about 92 acre-feet per day, during the summer months). The Rio Bosque Wetlands Park started to receive water from Bustamante in 1998. In 2001 and 2002, the park received water almost all year, including the growing season and plant life in the park responded with profusion.

The Rio Grande Project 2001 Implementing Third-Party Contract obligates EPWU to give about two thirds of the Bustamante effluent to ElP #1. Because ElP #1 owns the infrastructure, they decide where ALL the effluent goes. The infrastructure allows two possibilities: the effluent can go into the Riverside Cannel (the irrigation channel) or the Riverside Drain (also known as the Hudspeth Drain).

When ElP #1 does not want or need the treated water in the Riverside Cannel, it directs the water into the Riverside Drain by turning valves at the Bustamante Treatment Plant. When water is in the Riverside Drain, park managers can divert it through the park in the old river channel and, if desired, by a series of gates, to three wetland cells. In recent years, water is available in the Riverside Drain for 2 – 3 months in the winter (NOT the growing season). The park can accommodate between one half and all the water from the drain. At the southeast (downstream) end of the park, the water is returned to the Riverside Drain.

By simply turning the valve, the park could receive at least the one third of the treated water that is not obligated to ElP #1. This is an easy, no-cost solution, which would greatly benefit the citizens of El Paso.

Turnout from the Riverside Drain.

Chuy Reyes, General Manager ElP #1, says that ElP #1 will construct the turnout this winter (2011 – 2012), but not pay for the construction or the design costs. Bosque Program Coordinator/Manager, John Sproul has secured funding grants from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and from the IBWC to cover the cost of the turnout and the connecting channel between the turnout and the old river channel. The Friends of the Rio Bosque have committed to covering installation of the footbridge for the Tornillo Trail.

Charlie Wakeem had been trying to donate his water rights to the Bosque. His application has been pending with ElP #1 for five years. This would be a test case for HOW to donate water rights to the Bosque. El Paso County owns 137 acres of water rights at the Tornillo Port of Entry. Many people, including Chuy Reyes, General Manager ElP #1, and Ernie Carrizal, the County’s Acting Public Works Director, agree the county should donate those water rights to the Bosque.

Connection from Basin G to the Riverside Drain

This option may be of interest in relation to storm water issues.

More wells. The Bosque has a well near the northwest corner of the park that pumps 400 gal/min. In the winter when groundwater levels are at their highest and evaporation at its lowest, the pump can deliver water to approximately one quarter of the Old River Channel. At the height of the summer, the pump can flood about one-eighth of the channel. More wells would require too much cost, noise and maintenance to be a viable option at this time.

Other points:

El Paso Water Utilities (EPWU) is aware of issues with water at the Bosque and Rudy Valdez is the primary contact. In public forums, Ed Archuleta, President/Chief Executive Officer, said, “we can fix that” referring to no water at the Bosque.

Stealing water from El Paso citizens by pumping groundwater from the Rio Bosque Wetlands Park: ElP #1 owns the water under their own land along the Riverside Canal. They operate 6 wells that pump water from the land immediately adjacent to the Bosque. This summer, and as of 13 Oct 2011, these pumps are running 24/7, each pumping up to 1,750 gal/min from the groundwater into the Riverside Canal for irrigation use. In 2011, this pumping is primarily responsible for dropping the groundwater level in the park by 15 feet – below the roots of the cottonwood and other trees.

El Paso County Water Improvement District Number One (ElP #1) and lining the Riverside Cannel with cement:

http://www.usbr.gov/uc/albuq/envdocs/ea/epcwid1/index.html

This “finding of no significant impact” is in direct opposition to the facts and considerable data on file at UTEP.

Note that Chuy Reyes, brother of Congressman Silvestre, has not addressed Charlie Wakeem's offer of five years. He now says (with a fork tongue?) that they will build a turnout but not pay for it. The improvement district is clearly "stealing" water from the Bosque. Environmental studies are now just political covers for some to do whatever they want to do to the land and water. Someone remind me to check to see Silvestre's footprints all over that "environmental" document.