Mayor declares city water emergency

Tammy Fonce-Olivas and Erica Molina
El Paso Times
Wednesday, September 12, 2001

After terrorist attacks in other U.S. cities, Mayor Ray Caballero on Tuesday declared El Paso's first citywide water emergency as a "precautionary measure."

No water will be drawn from the Rio Grande into the city's two treatment plants while the water emergency is in effect.

The declaration significantly reduces the available water supply but lets the water utility make sure El Paso's drinking water is safe, officials said.

The utility also increased security at its facilities and offices, scheduled additional employees to work, and expanded bacteriological analysis and chlorine residuals testing, officials said.

Parker said this is the first time this kind of water emergency has been declared since the city adopted its Drought and Water Emergency Management Response plan in August 1999. While in water emergency status, El Paso will rely solely on water from its aquifers, to be certain "there has not been any contamination" of the water, she said.

Officials did not know how long the water emergency will last, Parker said.

Outdoor watering is not permitted while the water emergency is in effect, and "enforcement inspectors will be out in full force to ensure compliance," warned Karol Walker Parker, El Paso Water Utilities spokeswoman.

Eastsider Rosa Molina applauded the emergency decision. "It will damage the grass some, but that really doesn't matter right now," Molina said. "What matters now is conserving our water in case of an emergency."

In New Mexico, access was restricted to Elephant Butte Dam and the dam's power plant Tuesday. The dam is about 14 miles south of Truth or Consequences. Water released from the dam goes into the Rio Grande.

Galen Hanson, facility manager at Elephant Butte Field Division, said New Mexico State Highway 195 across Elephant Butte Dam has been closed and barricaded. Barricades also were placed across the east and west abutments to the dam Tuesday morning and are expected to remain in place until Thursday, he said. Barricades were also set up across the roads that lead to the power plant at Elephant Butte, and the operations and maintenance facilities at the dam also have increased security.

"All federal installations are in heightened awareness because of the tragedies that happened today," Hanson said.

Public access to Elephant Butte Lake and Caballo Lake wasn't being restricted, he said.

Tammy Fonce-Olivas may be reached at tfonce@elpasotimes.com; Erica Molina may be reached at emolina@elpasotimes.com