El Paso Water recently completed the Gateway Retention Ponds project along I-10, between the Piedras and Copia exits. The massive 5-year project represented a $15 million investment to reduce flooding and improve public safety.
The project includes two massive ponding areas on both sides of I-10. A 60-inch diameter pipe connects the two underneath the interstate. Together the two ponds will hold nearly 50 million gallons of water, enough to fill 75 Olympic-size swimming pools.
"We were determined to finish the project before the 2017 summer monsoon season, and we succeeded," said Gilbert Trejo, Chief Technical Officer for El Paso Water.Trejo said this project will go a long way to preventing flooding on I-10.
The multi-phased project is helped by ponds upstream and dam improvements already completed by El Paso Water. If the ponds happen to overflow, Trejo said they are designed to send water toward the new Magnolia Pump Station, which pumps the water down to the Rio Grande.