The El Paso region offers unique opportunities for companies who are engaged in the development, design and manufacture of water-related technologies.   El Paso and surrounding areas sit atop a virtual sea of both fresh and brackish groundwater which offer a unique test bed for developing a diverse range of water-related policy and technology. 

Some of these opportunities include:

• Water Desalination Technology
• Alternative Energies
• Filtration Media
• Industrial Equipment such as Pumps and Motors
• R&D for water resource development in arid climates

Some of the region’s unique attributes include:

A complex systems of underground aquifiers which contain both fresh and brackish water that span the boundaries of three states and two nations.

The world’s largest inland water desalination plant will be coming on line in El Paso in the Summer of 2007.  The $88 million facility will have the capacity to produce 27.5 million gallons of potable water per day.

 

Artists rendering of the new desalination plant used with permission

When the desalination plant opens in 2007, it will include a 30,450 sf water learning center, referred to as TECH2O.  TECH2O will serve educators, students, policy makers, businesses and the public by providing meeting places and resources to promote the understanding and study of water and water issues. It will include a 250-seat auditorium, a training center, interactive exhibits, and demonstration projects. These facilities make TECH2O ideal for regional, national and international symposia and conferences.

 

Consortium for High Tech Investigations of Water and Wastewater (CHIWAWA) –   El Paso Water Utilities has formed a partnership with the University of Texas at El Paso, New Mexico State University, Texas A&M, Ft. Bliss, the City of Alamogordo and others to jointly conduct research, training and technology transfer.

Additional small capacity desalination plants are planned for the region including a 5 mgd plant in Horizon City (15 miles east of El Paso) and a 10 mgd plant in Alamogordo, New Mexico (89 miles north of El Paso).

Since 1992, El Paso Water Utilities has received 24 distinct national awards for its initiatives in water conservation, which have conserved 14 billion gallons of water over a 17 year period.