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El Paso Water Congestion Case Study

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The Hueco Bolson is a thick pocket of sediments derived from nearby mountains that extends from New Mexico, through Texas, and into Mexico in the El Paso and Ciudad Juarez area. Over time, these sediments filled with water and became the Hueco Bolson aquifer: an oasis of plentiful water in the northern part of the Chihuahuan Desert. El Paso and Ciudad Juarez have relied on the Hueco Bolson aquifer as a primary source of drinking water for several decades. Ciudad Juarez, several communities in New Mexico, and the Fort Bliss Military Reservation currently depend on the Hueco Bolson aquifer as their sole source of drinking water (Sheng and others, 2001). Because of the desert climate and the local geology, the aquifer is not easily replenished, and recharge is low. Low recharge and high pumping rates have caused large water-level declines and large decreases in fresh-water volumes in the aquifer. The aquifer and the El Paso and Ciudad Juarez area are at the crossroads. With current trends, groundwater models predict that El Paso will pump the last of its fresh water by 2025, and Ciudad Juarez will pump the last of its fresh water by 2005. …show more content…

The El Paso Water Utilities/Public Service Board (EPWU) has recognized the nature of limited groundwater resources in the area and has investigated and invested in several strategies to increase the longevity and usefulness of the

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