Federal muscle is rolling into one of El Paso’s most flood-prone corners, as city and U.S. Army Corps officials on Tuesday kicked off a major overhaul of the Clardy Fox pump station and signed on to launch the first phase of a new flood-warning system. The twin moves are aimed squarely at hardening neighborhoods that routinely take on water during intense storms, boosting the station’s capacity and building a network that can forecast and warn residents about flash floods.
The day started with a 9 a.m. groundbreaking at the Clardy Fox pump station, tucked south of the Cesar Chavez Border Highway, followed by a signing ceremony that officials say finalizes the agreement for Phase 1 of the El Paso Flood Warning System, according to KVIA. Speakers included EPWater President and CEO John Balliew, Lt. Col. Matthew Miller of the USACE Albuquerque District, and U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar. KVIA reported the upgrades are designed to catch more runoff from upstream streets and keep the discharge channel from being overwhelmed when the skies open up.
Project upgrades at Clardy Fox
The Army Corps’ final Environmental Assessment spells out a laundry list of mechanical and electrical improvements, highlighted by three new 131-cubic-feet-per-second pumps, a larger backup generator, and a new electrical building, all intended to bring the station up to its design capacity for a 100-year storm. The assessment also calls for relocating the transformer, extending the trash screen, and adding a new fence to support expanded operations. Together, the changes are meant to move far more runoff from streets above the Clardy Fox subdivision and ease pressure on the Rio Grande discharge channel, according to USACE Albuquerque District documents.
The federal money that got this rolling traces back to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. In January 2022, Rep. Veronica Escobar’s office announced that about $7.875 million in Army Corps allocations would go toward El Paso stormwater priorities, with roughly $3.8 million earmarked for the Clardy Fox pump station and additional funds for the Northgate Diversion Channel. Escobar cast the awards as a response to record rainfall and a step toward bolstering the borderland’s resilience to severe storms, according to her office.
That early allocation pushed design work forward, but the latest Army Corps procurement forecasts now peg Clardy Fox construction in the $5 million to $10 million range and place Phase 1 of the Flood Warning System between about $350,000 and $1 million, reflecting design and contracting still ahead. The USACE acquisition forecast lists both efforts among the Albuquerque District’s civil works priorities for fiscal-year activity and possible contract awards.
Why it matters
Local officials argue these projects are overdue as El Paso gets hit with stronger, less predictable bursts of rain tied to climate change. The emergency scramble at Cement Lake in April was a fresh reminder of how quickly things can go sideways: EPWater’s public updates described emergency pumping, added engineered fill, and temporary road closures as crews worked to stabilize the reservoir and start longer-term repairs.
What to expect next
With the Environmental Assessment complete and initial agreements signed, officials say the next steps include final design, picking contractors, and ordering equipment before heavy construction starts. The Army Corps and EPWater plan to post procurement notices and project milestones as contracts advance, and residents should keep an eye out for public notices on traffic shifts or short-term closures linked to the work, as reported by KVIA.
