Military officials have declined to reveal the cost of repairing damage and replacing equipment from two major water pipe breaks in a five-month period at the William Beaumont Army Medical Center, which opened in July 2021 after years of construction problems and cost overruns.
The mammoth complex on Fort Bliss land in East El Paso ended up costing taxpayers $1.5 billlion to build and equip.
Water pipe breaks inside the hospital in October 2024 and March 2025 caused flooding and damage.
Unable to get information about the water leaks, including costs, prompted U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar to insert a paragraph into the 2026 Department of Defense funding bill, ordering the Defense Health Agency, or DHA, to provide a report to Congress detailing actions undertaken to address the repairs. The bill is part of a larger funding package passed Jan. 30 by the Senate and approved by the House Feb. 3.
Beaumont “has sustained a series of publicly reported water restrictions and water leaks which have, at times, negatively impacted patient experiences and posed a risk to facility services located within the hospital,” states a portion of the order.
In August, the El Paso Times filed a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain the costs of repairing and replacing computers, furniture, and other items damaged by water leaks.
The DHA in a Jan. 27 email reported that the El Paso Times FOIA request is No. 735 out of 1,030 open FOIA cases that are processed on a “first-in/first-out basis.”
“We sincerely regret there is a substantial delay in processing requests,” the email stated.
The two water leaks in 2024 and 2025 damaged floors and walls, and the DHA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers assessed the situation and were to provide cost estimates, Amabilia Payan, a Beaumont spokesperson, reported in a June 2025 email in response to El Paso Times questions.
A FitFam El Paso video posted in October 2024 showed water gushing from a ceiling light fixture and a hospital hallway getting flooded.
In an August email to the El Paso Times, DHA officials reported the agency was “developing a project to fully remediate and repair all affected infrastructure.” However, officials did not disclose the cost of damage.
Beaumont officials on Jan. 29 declined to provide the cost of the water damages. And a DHA spokesperson in a Jan. 30 email said he was checking with agency officials for a possible update on the water damages.
Both water leaks were caused by separate failed pipe fittings inside the hospital, Beaumont’s Payan reported in June.
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In April 2022, Beaumont’s water system was shut down for about a month because of a water-valve failure, causing the system to be contaminated with sediment. That cost $1.13 million for repairs and associated costs, DHA officials reported in June 2022.
Beaumont officials considered installing a reverse osmosis system to further purify the hospital’s water, but that was later deemed unnecessary.
Army Col. Lee Freeman, former Beaumont commander, noted in June 2025 that the medical complex is a state-of-the-art facility, but at the same time, a “work in progress” because of the structural problems.
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: Fort Bliss hospital plagued by water leaks; officials won’t reveal costs
Reporting by Vic Kolenc, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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