20th anniversary of historic flooding event in El Paso

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- August 1, 2026 marks the 20th anniversary of the historic flooding event that hit that Sun City back in 2006.

The National Weather Service (NWS) says that during the week from July 27 to August 4, El Paso experienced torrential rains. On August 1, the NWS says that between 3 to 10 inches of rain fell in various areas of El Paso causing flooding and damage throughout the city.

According to the NWS, this resulted in flooding forced the Rio Grande to over flow as the river reached its highest level since 1912.

The flooding created rivers in the residential areas, caused serve damaged to businesses and homes, left individuals' cars stranded in the roadways as seen in the video below.

ABC-7 reported the flooding and those impacted by the flooding when it occurred such as families returning to their homes days after the flood to FEMA arriving to El Paso to assess the damage in the area.

Below is more video of the damage and destruction that happened in El Paso, showing areas around the area on Mesa Street near Sunland Park Road.

The El Paso Office of Emergency Management reported that this flooding event caused more than $200 million in damages to businesses and homes. Officials also reported that $115 million dollars in damages occurred to the city's stormwater system.

In response to the flooding, the El Paso City Council established the stormwater utility in 2008 and gave El Paso Water broad authority and responsibility for the City’s stormwater system, including planning and capital improvements and operations and maintenance.

Since the flooding, El Paso Water has created several projects totaling $400 million in stormwater infrastructure since 2008. One of the projects included the Will Ruth Pond in Northeast El Paso. The pond located near Will Ruth Avenue and Threadgill Avenue is meant to capture stormwater runoff before it reaches neighborhoods. The 25-acre pond will be able to hold more than 100 million gallons of stormwater during heavy rain events once completed, which El Paso Water estimates will be done in fall of 2027.

El Paso Water said in a press event Wednesday, July 29, the utility estimates an additional $875 million dollars worth of future projects still needed to help mitigate flooding in areas around El Paso.