USIBWC breaks ground on $90M project to repair American Canal

EL PASO, Texas ( KTSM ) — The U.S Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission (USIBWC), joined by City of El Paso, state and El Paso Water officials broke ground to refurbish one part of the American Canal.

The canal provides irrigation water to over 58,130 acres of El Paso County Water Improvement District #1’s constituents in the El Paso Valley. It also provides up to 70,000 acre-feet of drinking water to EPWater, according to USIBWC.

The canal is divided into three parts: the upper reach, the middle reach and the lower reach.

The $90 million project is meant to replace the lower reach of the canal after nearly a century in service.

“There are two safety issues. One is with maintenance; our staff cannot get in there with our equipment to maintain it. So, the construction is going to include access. The second thing is that people inadvertently falling in there, you know, people use this area going up and down the levees for recreational purposes. And so definitely in closing, it will help with any accidents of people falling in it,” Dr. Maria-Elena Giner, USIBWC commissioner said.

The project will also include safety features such as two ramps to enter the canal, two sets of safety ladders and safety cables, 1,600 linear feet of handrails and five manholes in precast arches to allow visual inspection downstream of all inlets, according to USIBWC.

The project is expected to be completed by June of 2027.

“And for us, that’s very important because this is where El Paso gets a substantial amount of water on an annual basis, about half of the water, and on a hot day like today, probably about 90 percent of the water is coming out of this canal. So, it’s important that the water be transported safely and securely in the canal,” John E. Balliew, president of El Paso Water said.

USIBWC said the canal was constructed in 1938 at the same time as the American Dam to allocate water to Mexico per Treaty of 1906. It entered service on June 2, 1938.

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