After the Break: El Paso Water repaired $877K pipe burst without raising customer rates

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- A massive water main break in January left approximately 100,000 people across Northeast and Central El Paso without water or experiencing low water pressure for four to five days. The outage impacted 38,000 El Paso Water customers and resulted in repair costs of $877,000, which were covered through the utility's existing operational budget.

The widespread disruption occurred after two valves failed to close, preventing utility crews from isolating the pipeline leak. Water from the break flooded nearby properties, including one home that city inspectors later declared unsafe for living.

In response to the multi-day outage, El Paso Water established water distribution centers in different parts of that sector to assist affected residents.

Gilbert Trejo, vice president of operations and technical services for El Paso Water, acknowledged the severe impact the outage had on residents in the area.

“I think for the residents in the Northeast, we failed them,” VP Trejo said. “We do ask them to think about the other 361 days that perhaps they were not impacted because that's what we're working toward and we need to do better by them.”

VP Trejo acknowledged to ABC-7 that the $877,000 repair expense was absorbed entirely by the utility's budget, meaning customers will not see a direct rate increase as a result of the incident.

“Unfortunately, the impact to our customers was great that week, but from a financial standpoint, we anticipate these types of events to occur,” VP Trejo said.

According to EPWater, the ruptured pipeline was installed in the 1950s, making it approximately more than 70 years old; pipelines typically have a 50-year lifespan, but not all of them.

According to El Paso Water, 30% of its large pipes citywide are near 70 years old, while 65% of its other pipes are 30 years old; the utility manages 3,000 miles of pipeline across the city.

VP Trejo also said that replacing the entire infrastructure network at once is not feasible due to the immense cost it could have.

“It's more a targeted approach and a smarter approach to repair these aging pipes versus saying we have a plan to repair all 3,000 miles of pipeline that we have,” Trejo said. “That's not practical; the ratepayers won't be able to bear that type of cost.”

Although main breaks occur regularly, EPWater utility crews are typically able to isolate problems so residents remain unaffected.

“These types of main breaks, not to this size, but main breaks happen every day in El Paso and every week,” Trejo said. “The lessons that we learned, the things that we want to implement, we're already implementing them so that we can act on them and certainly an event that large can be mitigated and even better prevented."

Following the outage, El Paso Water began making operational adjustments to reduce the likelihood of similar widespread service disruptions.

VP Trejo also said the utility understands the frustration felt by impacted customers during the multi-day disruption.

“I think it's fair. It's fair that they're upset,” Trejo said. “It's fair that they're bothered with it; I'd be very upset too if I didn't have access to water that I felt that I have paid my fair share for.”

ABC-7 also spoke with Northeast El Paso resident Margarita Juarez, who witnessed the flooding affect her neighborhood, particularly her neighbor's house directly across the street. While Juarez's home was spared from severe damage, inspectors later deemed her neighbor's home unsafe to live in.

Juarez also says she does not blame El Paso Water for the break and felt grateful that the utility provided help and found a solution for the community.

Watch the special report: "After the Break," Thursday on ABC-7 at 6.