Reusable Water Facility In Texas

El Paso Water and Carollo have been granted a $3.5 million grant from the US Bureau of Reclamation to design a full-scale Advanced Water Purification Facility (AWPF). Using an advance of the stat of the art technology. The AWPF will treat wastewater into purified drinking water and deliver straight to the city drinking water distribution system.

“Carollo’s design is about 30 percent complete, and El Paso Water anticipates this grant will help to bring the design to 95 percent,” said Carollo project manager Sanaan Villalobos. “We’re thrilled to help deliver this cutting-edge project to our El Paso community.”

Carollo is designing the facility but also collaborating with El Paso Water to apply for a grant. The goal is to offset some of the construction cost that is estimated at $75 million.

“El Paso Water is always thinking of minimizing the impact on rate payers for these large-scale projects,” said Communication & Marketing Manager, Christina Montoya. “That’s why we aggressively pursue these grants. Carollo has been a great partner in design, and they have also helped us identify and submit funding applications like this one with outstanding results.”

El Paso Water and other utilities companies have been using treated wastewater for irrigation and other purposes for decades, the AWPF represent the first facility that will distribute treated wastewater directly to El Paso’s drinking water distribution system. Once in operation the AWPF will be producing up to 10 million gallons per day of renewable, drought-proof water to supply city’s drinking water supplies.

“The Advanced Water Purification Facility project is an example for the nation and the world on how a forward-thinking utility can use the latest technology to create a safe, sustainable, and locally controlled water supply to sustain and grow a community in an increasingly arid climate,” said Patricia Sinicropi, Executive Director of the WateReuse Association.