Back in January of 2024, Presidio County hired engineering firm Brock & Bustillos out of El Paso as well as Becky Brewster as grant administrator and myself as program manager to advance several water and wastewater projects funded by the Economically Distressed Areas Program (EDAP) of the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB). The projects include a new sewer system for Fort D.A. Russell in Marfa, a new water and wastewater system for East Heights in Marfa, as well as the planning, acquisition and design of new water systems for Las Pampas and Shafter. The financing for the projects was partially structured in the form of around $3 million in grant funding from the TWDB. The county had to raise another $1.6 million in match funding through the issuance of certificates of obligation, which the TWDB purchased. The matching funds are essentially a loan, which the county will be paying back to the TWDB over the next 20 years.
Sergio Adame heads the county’s engineering team from Brock & Bustillos. Adame has worked on a variety of projects including “utilities improvements, water pump stations, wastewater lift stations … [and] water and wastewater treatment plants.” According to Adame, the TWDB’s process for EDAP projects involves four aspects: Category A, which is an eligibility assessment to determine economic and residency eligibility; Category B, which assesses existing facilities and documents any problems; Category C, which identifies, develops, and analyzes alternatives in order to ultimately develop a preferred solution; and Category D, in which the project’s implementation plan is finalized.
At this point, all of the projects except for Shafter have completed Category B. The Fort D.A. Russell project will involve the construction of a new sewer line under the alley that runs behind the residences along Officers Row as well as other lines under the streets to the north of the Chinati Foundation that will link to an existing manhole under Madrid Street near the Border Patrol facility. The project will also include a line under the main road into the Chinati Foundation and a lift station to be sited to the south of the sheds there. This lift station is necessary in order to move the waste from lower elevations to the city’s existing sewer line.
The new water and wastewater system for East Heights has also been approved up to Category B. This project will involve construction of new water and wastewater lines under El Paso Street from the west end of the neighborhood to the Tumble In RV Park. The lines will also cross under the railroad track to the north of the area and link to existing water supply lines and manholes along Oak Street.
The new water system for Las Pampas has also crossed the Category B hurdle. This system entails a water line to be constructed in the existing easement along Highway 67 that will run from the Junta de los Rios water tower across from Presidio-Lely Airport to a site at the top of Las Pampas. This line will have two pump stations to push the water uphill to Las Pampas as well as a storage tank at the top of the line to hold the water that will supply the surrounding residences by gravity. The City of Presidio will supply the water to this system from its production wells east of the city.
The new water system for Shafter has proven to be the trickiest of the projects “due to the uncertainty” of the groundwater supply and the “difficulty in obtaining and determining property ownership” within the town, according to Adame. This has greatly slowed the process of identifying an “adequate location for the needed pump station and elevated water storage tank.”
Shafter’s current water system, which is operated by the mining company, pulls groundwater from the Mina Grande Aquifer. According to a hydrology report prepared for the county by John Shomaker & Associates out of Albuquerque, there is some risk that the water level in a new supply well drilled into this same aquifer could drop dramatically if the mine were to restart operations and dewater its mine shafts. Since the Mina Grande Aquifer is separated from the Igneous Aquifer by the Mina Grande Fault to the northwest of Shafter, the report identified a site on neighboring Cibolo Creek Ranch as the best location for Shafter’s new supply well along with about two miles of pipeline to carry the water to the town. But this solution would have involved crossing the Trans-Pecos Pipeline easement and other difficulties, and negotiations with Cibolo Creek Ranch ultimately failed to produce an agreement. As a result, the county’s team is now seeking to identify owners of parcels for a supply well to be drilled inside the town of Shafter at a depth sufficient to preclude any negative impacts from future dewatering of the mine shafts.
While the process has been slow and difficult, it has not been without its rewards. According to Becky Brewster, administrator for the county’s EDAP grant, “Water and sewer projects often involve complex challenges that require creative and strategic thinking. It has been rewarding to work with the project team to address these challenges and see the project come together. It is also rewarding to know you have played a small part in long-term improvements that will improve the quality of life for the residents of the community and last for years to come.”
Trey Gerfers serves as general manager of the Presidio County Underground Water Conservation District. A San Antonio native, he has lived in Marfa since 2013 and can be reached at tgerfers@pcuwcd.org.