Conference Attendees Learn About Conservation and Efficiencies

Round Table discussion.

Permalog leak detection equipment demonstration.

Keynote speaker Juan Luis Calderón Hinojosa, director of water, stormwater and wastewater operations in Morelia, Michoacán, and brother of Mexico President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa.

El Paso’s first Binational Water Conservation and System Efficiency Conference was a resounding success! People from as far away as Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., traveled to El Paso for the conference, while others came from California, New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona. Mexico was well-represented, too. There were attendees from Baja California, Chihuahua, Michoacán, Morelos, Sonora and Tamaulipas. In all, more than 150 people converged in El Paso to learn how to incorporate an effective conservation program into a long-term water management plan.

The sessions incorporated the theme “Framing the Need for Water Conservation and Efficiency Programs along the U.S./Mexico border.” Topics included utility and customer conservation programs, rate structures that promote water conservation, energy conservation and public outreach. The conference was free to attendees, thanks to funding from the North American Development Bank (NADBank) and the Border Environment Cooperation Commission.

The keynote speakers included Juan Luis Calderón Hinojosa, director of water, stormwater and wastewater operations in Morelia, Michoacán, and brother of Mexico President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa. Remarks from NADBank Managing Director and CEO Jorge Garcés brought the conference to a close.

Garcés explained that NADBank sponsors environmental projects in municipalities along the U.S./Mexico Border, a 2,100-mile area that extends from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean. The agency offers technical assistance, training, grants and loans including $53 million in loans that is funding stormwater projects in El Paso.

The conference included a tour of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Desalination Plant and a Permalog leak detection equipment demonstration.