El Paso Utility OKs Negotiation to Buy Water Farm Acreage

Facing a possible water shortfall in the coming decades, El Paso, Texas city leaders approved negotiations for the purchase of some 25,000 acres near Dell City that would be used as a water farm.

If negotiations are successful, water from wells on the land would be desalinated and pumped about 90 miles west through a pipeline to El Paso. The water farm could provide up to 60,000 acre feet a year, which is about half of El Paso's current annual usage.

Land, rights of way, design, engineering and construction of the project are estimated to cost between $400 million and $500 million, according to a press release.

Source: USWN