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East Side homeowner Ray Martinez fears that hot, miserable afternoon -- the
day soaring temperatures and cloudless skies send him to his kitchen for a
cool drink of water.
He opens the faucet, and out comes ... nothing.
If El Pasoans fail to make serious and immediate efforts to conserve water,
that dreaded day -- the day when taps run dry -- could come before the end
of April, utility officials warn.
A water emergency could be just weeks away, but the City Council and El Paso
Water Utilities still haven't agreed on the best way to deal with the Rio
Grande drought.
To help conserve a limited supply of fresh water in underground bolsons, El
Paso has, in recent years, turned to river water. In a normal year, the Rio
Grande would flow from February to October to supply water to farmers and
the city.
But because of a long-term drought in the northern mountains that feed the
Rio Grande, El Paso won't get its allotted water this year until late May or
early June. Even then, the water will be just a fraction of a normal supply.
And though El Paso has received more than an average amount of snow and
rainfall to date this year, that precipitation doesn't add to the city's
supply of river water.
"It's going to be real rough, if we are in that type of situation," said
Martinez, a 39-year-old Realtor. "We need to take some drastic measures."
Two weeks ago, El Paso Water Utilities General Manager Ed Archuleta asked
the City Council to approve moving to the Stage 2 drought plan April 1. That
stage requires customers to reduce their outdoor watering to one day a week,
two hours a day.
But the council rejected the plan. Council members doubted that residents
would voluntarily comply with the restrictions and said the best way to get
El Pasoans to cut back on water use would be to significantly increase water
rates.
The council directed Archuleta to return Tuesday with a plan to raise water
rates. Northeast city Rep. John Cook introduced the motion to explore
water-rate increases, which the council approved 7-1 two weeks ago.
East-Central city Rep. Larry Medina cast the dissenting vote.
"There's no way that people are going to voluntarily comply with
one-day-a-week watering," Cook said. "What's going to keep people from going
out at midnight and turning on their sprinklers?"
Cook is proposing a water-rate plan that would give a 25 percent discount to
households that use the least amount of water, and would increase the rate
up to fourfold on the biggest water users.
Archuleta said that he would consider the council's wishes but that a rate
increase wouldn't work in time to save the city from a water deficit in
April and May.
"We're sticking with the plan," Archuleta said. "We just need to tighten our
belts for a period of time."
Drought trickles south
In a normal year, the utility would begin tapping Rio Grande water released
from upstream reservoirs in February or March, in time to supply water to El
Pasoans' thirsty lawns and swamp coolers.
But years of limited snowfall and rain in the northern New Mexico and
southern Colorado mountains that feed the Rio Grande means an adequate
supply of water isn't expected until late May or early June.
Albuquerque and Las Cruces are not affected by the river drought because
they tap aquifers for municipal water, not the Rio Grande. Both cities,
however, have programs to conserve their underground water supplies.
Officials of the Bureau of Reclamation, the federal agency that sets
allotments for river-water users, said this is the first year in 25 years
that Rio Grande Project users will be faced with less than a full supply of
water.
Archuleta said that even if heavy snowfall occurred in the mountains in
coming weeks, the runoff wouldn't be of use until later this summer.
The Elephant Butte Irrigation District, which releases water to downstream
users, including El Paso, plans to let the runoff build up and then release
it in "blocks" throughout the summer. El Paso will take the river water
during June's block release, when the water is expected to be of sufficient
quantity and quality for the city's surface-water plants.
So, for April and May at least, the city must survive on well water from the
Hueco and Mesilla bolsons.
City safety
David Brosman, chief operating officer for the utility, said the wells can
produce about 135 million gallons a day. But by the end of May, El Pasoans
are using about 160 million gallons a day. A series of days of high
temperatures and no rain, could push water demand as well. The day residents
demand more than the utility can pump, "we're going to have water quality
problems," Brosman said.
If El Pasoans push water demand even further, "we are going to have serious
compromises in fire protection," Brosman said.
On a hot, high-demand day, firefighters battling a blaze may open a hydrant,
only to be greeted by a weak trickle of water.
"Here's a scary thought: the first time a block of homes burns down instead
of a house," Brosman said.
Will we conserve?
Archuleta said he opposes a rate increase because bills would have to
increase by 65 percent or more across the board to cause a cut in water use.
He's confident that El Pasoans understand the seriousness of the problem and
will comply with Stage 2 water restrictions.
If El Pasoans can hang in there, he said, river-water flows could increase
in late summer. As temperatures and water use drops in early fall, the city
may be able to return to Stage 1 restrictions and avoid a severe increase in
rates.
The average residential customer's water and waste-water bill is now about
$36.45, utility officials said.
Moreover, Archuleta said, it would take months before an equitable rate
increase plan could be developed. Even then, it could be months before a
rate increase resulted in a significant decrease in water usage, he added.
"You just don't willy-nilly" increase rates, he said. "It could be a six- to
nine-month process."
Water worries split city
El Paso homeowners are divided on the issue of having rate increases, water
conservation or both.
"Probably raising rates is the only realistic way" to reduce consumption,
said Northeast resident Mike Engelbaum, an insurance agent.
Engelbaum, 43, said he has landscaped his front yard with desert plants to
reduce his water use. He would accept a 65 percent higher water bill, he
said, but doesn't want to see it go much higher than that.
Eastsider Martinez said he wished El Pasoans would accept the fact they are
facing a river drought. He pointed out how other cities, such as Santa Fe
and Denver, adopted strict drought plans months ago.
"Other municipalities aren't freaking out like we are," Martinez said.
Martinez, who also has desert-landscaped his front yard, said he doesn't
like the idea of raising water rates. El Pasoans, he said, should be willing
to accept some hardship for a few months. "We're already an overburdened
city, with our high property taxes," Martinez said. "We shouldn't raise
rates."
David Peregrino may be reached at dperegrino@elpasotimes.com
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