The Monsoon is here; what that means for the Borderland
EL PASO, Texas - June 15 marks the start of the rainy season in the desert southwest. This is known as the Monsoon. This time of year, weather patterns change with the beginning of the Monsoon.
During the spring months, winds are often dry and out of the west, whereas during the Monsoon, the winds have a more southerly direction, which can bring an increase of moisture into the region.
As more moisture is swept into the region, the chance for thunderstorms rises, which also means flooding becomes an issue. That's where El Paso Water comes in with the stormwater system. The stormwater system is intended to protect our roads from the heavy downpours we see during the Monsoon.
The quickly accumulating waters can fill up the roads in a matter of seconds. The system is designed to move water off the streets as quickly as possible and into pipes and reservoirs across the region.
On Wednesday, EP Water gave an in-depth tour of how the stormwater system works. Stormwater Chief Operations Manager Gisela Dagnino said EP Water is "better prepared [now] than we were before for other monsoon seasons."
"Our staff works inside the dams, inside the channels, inside the ponds. You may not be able to see them, but they are there," Dagnino said.
In preparation for this year's Monsoon, Dagnino gave an update on all the things EP Water has been working on:
"We've done a lot of sediment removal. We've fixed a lot of infrastructures that had already surpassed their useful life, and we've done a lot of clean up a lot of our channels, damns, conduits, and of course the inlets," she said.
She also made a call for help to the community to not litter or do any illegal dumping as that works against the efficiency of the stormwater system. "If you see a drain clogged, please just help us out and take a broom and clear the drain," she said.
With the Climate Prediction Center's prediction of seeing an average Monsoon, that means about 5.25" of rain may fall in the next few months. Then we will see how efficient the system updates have been.
