Background

The EPWWS provides potable drinking water and wastewater services to approximately 9,200 metered customers in the city of Eagle Pass and twelve colonias in Maverick County, Texas. The EPWWS’s municipal water treatment plant (WTP), which is 50 years old, has reached its
capacity to produce potable water that meets state and federal water treatment requirements.

Extending southward from Eagle Pass, El Indio Water Supply Corporation (WSC) currently provides water service to about 2,000 metered connections in colonias, schools and businesses, and the Reservation of the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe. In recent years, the WSC
has experienced periodic water supply shortages and low pressure because of the limited capacity of the El Indio WTP and distribution system, as well as the unreliable availability of water from the canal. In addition, the WSC has a commitment to provide new water service to 4,000 customers within its water service area.

The EPWWS also provides wastewater collection and treatment services for nearly 100% of their existing water customers, as well as minimum wastewater collection for a small portion of El Indio and the Kickapoo Nation Reservation, which is mainly served by noncompliant onsite septic systems and cesspools.

Description

Under the proposed project, the El Indio WSC will merge with EPWWS by replacing the two existing water treatment plants with a single regional water plant that will have the capacity to treat 19 million gallon a day (MGD). Other water improvements include securing the necessary water rights, three elevated storage tanks, 77,400 linear feet (LF) of
transmission lines, and the expansion and rehabilitation of 162,383 LF of existing transmission lines to serve the Deer Run and El Indio service areas, as well as surrounding colonias.

The project will also extend the collection system to include 32 colonias that currently lack such services, and expand the wastewater treatment plant from 6 to 8 MGD as required to serve these areas. A new WWTP will be constructed in the Rosita Valley area to serve portions of El Indio and Kickapoo Reservation.

Benefits

The project will provide the City with the capacity to meet water demands and bring drinking water quality into compliance with the Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission. Moreover, several colonias and part of the Kickapoo reservation will be connected to a
centralized sewage system for the first time, thus reducing health risks associated with the use of on-site wastewater systems.