Officials in El Paso, Texas, were joined last week by national water industry leaders to break ground on what will be a new, state-of-the-art advanced water purification facility at El Paso Water (EPWater).
According to the utility, the unique facility will use a robust treatment process to transform recycled water into high-quality drinking water, which will be distributed directly to customers. The plant, which is being called the Pure Water Center, will provide up to 10 million gallons per day of safe, reliable and sustainable water. EPWater said the facility expected to be open by 2027.
EPWater has worked collaboratively with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for more than a decade to ensure that the water produced at this facility will meet all state and federal requirements for safe drinking water. In late 2024, TCEQ granted final design approval, allowing construction to move forward in early 2025.
The utility commemorated the occasion with an event last week featuring remarks from Renard Johnson, El Paso Mayor, John Balliew, president and CEO of El Paso Water and Bart Weiss, president of the WateReuse Association. Daniel Nix, executive director of the Texas American Water Works Association, Pat Sinicropi, executive director of the WateReuse Association and David LaFrance, executive director, American Water Works Association also joined.
“After years of planning, design and thousands of water-quality tests, we are excited to begin construction on the Pure Water Center,” said El Paso Water’s Balliew. “This is the next step in El Paso’s long history of water reuse, and we hope it will serve as a model for other communities facing water related challenges.”
The Pure Water Center will receive treated water from the Roberto Bustamante Wastewater Treatment Plant, which is currently used for irrigation and discharge to the Rio Grande. This water will undergo a multi-step purification process to go beyond drinking water quality standards before distribution to customers.
The advanced purification process will include membrane filtration, reverse osmosis, ultraviolet light with advanced oxidation, granular activated carbon filtration and chlorine disinfection. Designed by Carollo Engineers and soon to be constructed by the PCL/Sundt Joint Venture, the Pure Water Center will provide an additional 10 million gallons of drinking water per day directly to El Paso residents.
“The groundbreaking of EPWater’s Pure Water Center represents a historic milestone for water reuse innovation,” said Sanaan Villalobos, Vice President and Project Manager at Carollo. “As the nation’s first direct-to-distribution potable reuse facility, this pioneering project showcases EPWater’s visionary leadership and unwavering commitment to water sustainability.”
“We are honored EPWater has entrusted the PCL/Sundt team with this transformative project,” said Ankur Talwar, District Manager for PCL’s Civil Infrastructure Division. “Our hope is that the Pure Water Center will set a new standard for water resiliency across the country.”
“At Sundt, we take pride in our long-standing expertise in building critical water infrastructure that
strengthens communities,” said Sam Reidy, President of Sundt’s Water and Wastewater Group.
“Through our partnership with EPWater and PCL Construction, we are ensuring a resilient water future for the region.”
As for project funding, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation awarded $3.5 million in 2019 for the facility’s design and committed an additional $20 million in 2022 to support construction. The total project cost is currently estimated at $295 million, and EPWater continues to pursue additional state and federal funding.
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