May 4, 2018 • EPE Related News
KVIA: Every Drop Counts
Water is one of the most important components for power generation.
“At El Paso Electric (EPE), water is mainly used for cooling and pollution control,” says Teresa Sosa, El Paso Electric Environmental Engineer. “Each of our three power plants has a slightly different way to manage water usage and disposal, depending on the permit or authorization that is in place.”
EPE’s Rio Grande Power Station in Sunland Park, New Mexico, has a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued by the Environmental Protection Agency. The NPDES permit sets the standards on the water disposed of from our Rio Grande Power Plant.
Montana Power Station has two 21-acre evaporation ponds that have the capacity to store 57 million gallons of water that comes from our cooling towers and other power generation processes.
“The ponds were awarded a 2017 Engineering Excellence Award in the environmental category by the American Council of Engineering Companies,” says Sosa. “This award was presented for the pond’s integration of the latest environmental protection technologies.”
The water is tested to ensure compliance with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) Regulatory Guidance and can be reused as reclaimed water for on-site irrigation, fire protection, or dust suppression.
At our Newman Power Station in northeast El Paso, a portion of the water we use is reclaimed water provided by the Fred Hervey Water Reclamation Plant. After the water is recycled internally three to five times, it is re-used to irrigate grazing land at the Bowen Ranch.
The permits and authorizations EPE has are mainly to monitor the quality of the wastewater that results from power generation. In addition to paying careful attention to water quality, EPE is also conscientious about the quantity of water we use. We know we are one of the largest consumers of water in our region and we are always pursuing strategies to minimize our use. Our newest power plants consume a fraction of the amount of water per unit of power generated than our older units and we are continuously researching water efficiency technologies.
“At EPE, we live and work in a desert environment and we are committed to protecting this precious resource,” says Sosa.
Source: http://www.kvia.com/sponsored-content?prx_t=3asDAnNMgA8p8QA
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