EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — August was declared National Water Quality Month (NWQM) by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency back in 2005, according to the NWQM website.

Efforts to provide Americans with access to clean water for use and consumption date back to the early 1970s, when the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act were passed.

Therefore, this month serves to raise awareness about water quality and reflect on the importance of access to clean drinking water, which not all communities have.

“Water is life. We need it every day. And I think we are lucky. It is imperative that the community is aware of the importance of preserving and valuing the water we have in our community,” said Anna Gitter.

Gitter is an assistant professor of environmental and occupational health sciences in the School of Public Health at UT Health Houston in El Paso and a member of El Paso Water’s Public Service Board.

In honor of National Water Quality Month, Gitter discussed water usage among El Paso residents with KTSM.

“I think it’s important to understand where water comes from. How is water treated to make it drinkable? What do we do with wastewater when we flush it away? What different stages does it go through? I think it’s really important to understand that,” Gitter said.

She explained that the water that El Paso residents drink is exceptionally rich in health-promoting minerals.

“The water we have here, especially groundwater, has a higher mineral content, but it helps us meet our nutrient needs and stay healthy,” Gitter said.

Gitter said El Paso is rich in brackish (salty) groundwater, which is naturally rich in minerals such as calcium, magnesium and lithium, which are not only safe to drink and drink, but also essential for health.

“When they use our groundwater and treat it to make it drinkable, there is still a higher mineral content there, possibly from other water sources,” Gitter said. “It’s safe to drink and actually good for you. Our bodies need different minerals to stay healthy and for everything to function properly.”

Removing these minerals from the water would simply change the taste and cause people to lose these vital minerals, Gitter said.

Despite the challenges that come with being in a desert, particularly as El Paso experiences increasing droughts each year, Gitter said EP Water has taken steps to build a comprehensive portfolio of drinking water sources to meet the needs of its community.

These include freshwater, brackish water (salty) and surface water from the Rio Grande.

EP Water intends to expand this portfolio to four sources in the next few years through the construction of a state-of-the-art water treatment plant. This plant will further treat the wastewater from the Roberto Bustamante wastewater treatment plant to upgrade it to drinking water quality.

Treated water from the Roberto Bustamante wastewater treatment plant is currently used to irrigate the entire city.

“Drinking water treatment has been around for over 100 years and is one of the greatest advances in public health,” Gitter said.

EP Water operates four water treatment plants, two wastewater treatment plants, two water reclamation plants and a separate international water quality laboratory to monitor the quality of drinking water for El Paso residents.

Gitter also said that purchasing a home water filtration device to remove contaminants from the water is not necessary because EP Water’s systems already do this.

She explained that filters are only really helpful when it comes to taste and that this is ultimately a matter of personal preference. However, anyone who decides to buy filters must make sure that they look after them properly.

“If you install a filtration system or device in your home, you need to make sure you maintain it and replace it when necessary. Because if you don’t, bacteria can grow in the filter and you could basically get sick. I mean, the water itself is fine,” Gitter said.

To learn more about the importance of National Water Quality Month, you can visit the following website:

To learn more about EP Water and the water they distribute in the city, visit https://www.epwater.org/our_water.

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