El Paso Residents Reduce Water Use NEWS RELEASE Contact: Karol Parker, Public Affairs Officer 915-594-5692 (office), e-mail: kparker@epwu.org Date: January 14, 2008 (El Paso) — Water use in El Paso has fallen steadily for more than a decade, and 2007 was no exception. Daily water use averaged 134 gallons per person last year, which is two gallons less than in 2006. El Paso’s water resource management plan was adopted by the Public Service Board in 1991. It recommended implementing an aggressive conservation program that would reduce potable water use by 20 percent over a 10-year period. The goal was to reduce average daily water use to 160 gallons per person by 2000. El Paso Water Utilities blended education, enforcement and incentives in a successful conservation program, and water use has dropped steadily since that time. Conservation continues to be a key component in the long-term, sustainable water plan, and El Paso’s current goal is to use less than 140 gallons per person per day. Indoor conservation results in less water flowing into wastewater treatment plants. This allows the utility to postpone planned plant expansions and saves rate payers millions of dollars in capital and financing costs. Reduced water use also impacts pumping in the Hueco Bolson aquifer. Pumping peaked in 1989, and El Paso is now pumping at quantities last seen in the late 1960s, despite steady population growth. El Paso Water Utilities is known throughout the country for its comprehensive water conservation programs. The utility ’s goal is to maintain reductions in water use through education and advances in technology.