Butterfield Trail Golf Club getting new water source
A new well at an east side golf course is coming to help save money, conserve water and make the business more self-sufficient.
Butterfield Trail Golf Club is owned and operated by El Paso International Airport. Since opening in 2007, the golf club near Spur 601 and Loop 375 has purchased water from the city to irrigate the course. Now, a new $4-million well is going to be built at the site to tap into an underground aquifer.
The well is currently in the initial design phases by El Paso Water Utilities, according to an EPWU spokeswoman. It will be 900 feet deep and will pull brackish water from the Hueco Bolson water source. Brackish water is salty, meaning there will be an on site filtration system and the new well will be able to produce one million gallons of water a day.
On Tuesday, city council approved a more than $68,000 agreement so that El Paso Electric can provide underground electrical service to the well.
“It’s just one of those things that we want to make sure we keep the wonderful golf course well watered and that it can be an asset to this community for the next several years,” Jeff Schultes, an airport spokesman, said.
The well project is only a small piece of the airport’s $139-million capital improvement plan, and is expected to be up and running by the beginning of 2016. It will be paid for with grants from the Federal Aviation Administration, rental car fees and other airport revenues.
