Water pumping has stabilized El Paso Water’s Cement Lake Dam, avoiding what the utility’s top executive said was close to a dam collapse.
Sections of Doniphan Drive, Paisano Drive, and Highway Loop 375 in West El Paso are now open after being closed for several days because of the risk of nearby roadways flooding if the dam lake breached.
“We had a very close call with a near-dam collapse, but it has been stabilized, and the risk is now very low,” John Balliew, the city-operated utility’s chief executive officer, said in a statement Sunday afternoon.
Seventeen feet of water were pumped from the lake into the Rio Grande by Sunday morning, April 26, El Paso Water officials reported in a news release.
Previously, officials said at least 10 feet of water needed to be removed to stabilize the earthen dam.
The lake’s capacity is 39 million gallons.
El Paso Water has shifted from emergency response to planning and executing a long-term solution for the earthen dam’s structural problems, according to the news release.
The dam’s stabilization allowed utility crews to return to the lake Saturday, April 25, to resume reinforcing a compromised section of the dirt embankment, according to the utility.
They had stopped the work late Thursday night after conditions at the lake dam worsened, and were deemed too dangerous for personnel to remain at the lake.
More than 30,000 tons of engineered dirt were added to the perimeter of the lake’s earthen dam by late Thursday afternoon, April 23.
El Paso Water did no structural assessment of the dam before it purchased Cement Lake, also known as Portland Reservoir, for $4 million in March from the Texas Department of Transportation, Denise Parra, a utility spokesperson, said in an email late Friday afternoon, April 24.
The lake’s water quality was tested prior to the purchase and found to be favorable, she said.
“EPWater’s primary concern was whether any industrial contamination from decades past remained and therefore, conducted an environmental assessment.”
“In addition, information from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality indicated the site had been studied with no problematic findings,” Parra said.
The lake purchase is to preserve open space and for a wastewater infrastructure project, Parra said.
More: Fort Bliss data center complex to be shared by Army, commercial users
El Paso Water personnel detected water seepage at the lake dam April 22 when they went there to determine what improvements were needed as the utility became the property’s owner, Christina Montoya, another utility spokesperson said in an email last week. That set the utility’s emergency response in motion.
It hired Freese and Nichols Engineering, based in Fort Worth, last week to study the problems. It also consulted dam experts from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Engineering assessments for a “longer-term fix” will take time, Montoya said in an email last week.
Vic Kolenc may be reached at 915-546-6421; vkolenc@elpasotimes.com; @vickolenc on X, and @vkolenc.bsky.social on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: EP Water stabilizes Cement Lake Dam, avoids collapse, roads reopen
Reporting by Vic Kolenc, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
