Test Well Collapses in El Paso Water-Import Project
El Paso’s plan to import groundwater from Hudspeth County land northeast of Fort Hancock has hit a snag, after the city’s first test well at the site collapsed due to “unforeseen subsurface conditions.”
John Balliew, El Paso Water Utilities’ CEO, said test drilling at the utility’s Hudspeth County lease will continue, and he said that the testing phase of the project could last two to three years. The first exploratory well had been drilled to a depth of more than 1,000 feet before it collapsed.
“EPWU will continue to drill test holes and up to four complete test wells over the next several years,” Balliew said in an email. “After each well is completed, a ‘long-term aquifer pumping test’ will be conducted to determine the quality and quantity of the groundwater.”
El Paso’s water-conservation successes have set a standard for other cities in the West, and the city has the world’s largest inland desalination plant, which can produce 27.5 million gallons of fresh water a day from the briny groundwater of the Hueco Bolson. Still, the city’s ability to meet drinking-water needs faces significant long-term threats.
Low water levels in the Rio Grande are among the most pressing of those threats. El Paso had been able to meet almost 60 percent of its drinking-water needs through water rights acquired on the river, but drought conditions on the river have been intense in recent years. In 2013, El Paso was only able to obtain about 10,000 acre-feet of water from the river, compared to about 60,000 acre-feet in 2008.
The city has plans to import water from Dell Valley, and from properties it owns near Van Horn and Valentine, beginning in 2050, but El Paso has turned to western Hudspeth County for a more short-term fix. In 2014, the city leased land 15 miles north of McNary from the Texas General Land Office. Known as the Diablo lease, the land is located near the Diablo #1 dam, on the southern edge of the high grasslands of the Diablo Plateau. El Paso water planners believe the city might be able to import 10,000 to 20,000 acre-feet of water a year from the property.
The Public Service Board, which oversees El Paso Water Utilities, last year allocated $5.2 million for test drilling at the Diablo lease. When the quality and quantity of groundwater available has been determined through testing, the PSB will decide whether, and at what pace, to move ahead on producing and transporting water.
Production at the Diablo lease would require the city to transport water about 40 miles. The GLO land is not within the boundaries of a groundwater conservation district, and the city could essentially pumped as much water as it wanted to from the property.
Hudspeth County commissioners have voiced concerns about the water-import project and its potential impact to livestock producers in the area and particularly to the Esperanza water system. Esperanza Fresh Water Supply operates a well near the Diablo lease, and commissioners said they were worried that well might run dry as a result of El Paso’s project. Owned by Jobe Materials, the Esperanza system provides drinking water to more than 250 households on the east side of Fort Hancock.