EL PASO, TX, JULY 8, 2016 -- The Public Service Board of El Paso, Texas. is in the process of buying a 26,470-acre plot of land as a future groundwater source. The department, which controls the city's water and sewage utilities, is expected to close on the CL Ranch in the Dell City area east of El Paso for about $50 million, sometime next week.
Water would be imported from the ranch through an expensive pipeline system beginning in 2050, under El Paso Water's current plans, according to the El Paso Times.
The land purchase is being made by with a 20-year loan, with a 1.98-percent interest rate, from the Texas Water Development Board's State Water Implementation Fund, or Swift Fund, said the Times.
Ratepayers in the area will eventually pay for the utility's long-range water plans, estimated to be about $600 million in total, which will pay for land, pipelines, pumping stations and other costs aimed at ensuring the area's water future.
