Council hears USGS presentation on Urban Waters partnership and considers joining steering committee

The El Paso City Council heard a presentation on Tuesday from America Alvarez of the U.S. Geological Survey’s New Mexico Water Science Center about the Urban Waters Federal Partnership and discussed joining the partnership’s steering committee to help coordinate water-quality, stormwater and river-restoration work across the region.

Alvarez described the partnership — launched by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2011 — as a collaborative, non-hierarchical federal program that supports local priorities by aligning federal, state and local resources. She told the council the program’s objectives include improving coordination across agencies, supporting community-led efforts and advancing government efficiency.

“The program will support what the community is already currently doing,” Alvarez said, and emphasized that the partnership “listens to [the community] and encourages their participation.” Alvarez also noted that the program typically relies on a locally housed Urban Waters ambassador to coordinate partners; she said the ambassador position is preferred to be full time but that funding for the role is not currently available through EPA and would likely need to be obtained from a local partner or other grant sources.

Public commenters and local organizations urged city participation. Annie Montes, who identified herself as the Urban Waters ambassador for the Bridle Rio Grande watershed, told the council the program “creates opportunities to tackle shared issues, like protecting our drinking water resources, keeping pollution out of the Rio Grande, conserving water,” and said El Paso would strengthen regional work by joining.

Representatives of local organizations described existing demonstration projects and partnerships. Maya Sanchez of the El Paso Community Foundation described rainwater-harvesting demonstration sites and ongoing work at the McCall Neighborhood Center; Mike Gaglio of High Desert Native Plants highlighted local wetlands and stormwater projects and said an ambassador “would be a voice” to leverage federal technical and funding resources. Marissa Nunez, a community organizer who spoke in her personal capacity, urged councilmembers to “reimagine our relationship with water,” pointing to stormwater as an underused local resource.

Several councilmembers asked whether membership on the steering committee would create an immediate financial obligation for the city. Alvarez said joining the steering committee does not require a financial commitment by itself and that committee membership is primarily a forum for sharing ideas and coordinating resources, though funding for an ambassador or specific projects would be a separate question for the council.

Councilmembers expressed broad interest and directed staff to return with a formal recommendation. Several members said they would seek a formal agenda item within about two weeks to direct the city manager to appoint a city representative to the steering committee so El Paso can move toward formal designation as an Urban Waters location.

No ordinance or funding decision was approved at the meeting. The council received letters of support from county commissioners and local conservation partners and heard that potential local hosts for an ambassador include the El Paso Community Foundation and other nonprofits; funding options could include cooperative USGS matching funds and philanthropy.

Outcome: Discussion only; councilmembers signaled support and asked staff to prepare a recommendation on appointing a city representative to the Urban Waters steering committee.