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While farmers rely on the Rio Grande for irrigation, much of the water that El Paso residents drink actually comes from deep aquifers. under the floor. These critical water resources are also in danger.
In 1979, the Texas Water Development Board predicted that El Paso’s groundwater would be depleted. until 2031. At that time, each resident was using an average of more than 200 gallons of water per day. Most of this water was drawn from the city’s two aquifers – Hueco Bolson to the east and Mesilla Bolson to the west.
Over the next two decades, the water utility launched a campaign that encouraged residents to use less water, among other things, by replacing their lawns with native plants. Today, average water use per person per day has dropped to 134 gallons. This is still higher than the US national average 82 gallons but lower than use in some other parts of the country with similarly dry climates, such as Arizona (145 gallons) and Utah (169 gallons).
The aquifers are in slightly better condition as a result. “The water level is dropping, but not like a rock,” says Scott Reinert, director of resources at El Paso Water. Still, more water comes out of the aquifer than it comes back in.
El Paso Water pumps between 40,000 and 50,000 acres of water from Hueco Bolson each year, displacing approximately 5,000 acres per year. (An acre-foot is a cumbersome unit of measure used by water administrations—enough water to cover an acre of land, or just over half a football field, with a foot of water.) There is also some natural recharge from other groundwater and river, but possibly pumping. not enough to catch up.
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