Quality of Life versus Growth in El Paso, Texas
"Dere's little stealin' like you does, and dere's big stealin' like I does. For de little stealin' dey gits you in jail soon or late. For de big stealin' dey makes you Emperor and puts you in de Hall o' Fame when you croaks." The Emperor Jones, Eugene O'Neill
The Chihuahua desert is littered with ruins of ancient civilizations and ghost towns that succumbed to environmental problems caused by human impact or climate change.7 El Paso citizens are exposed to an even greater threat.
There is a remarkable lack of social conscience in the El Paso business community.4 Many businessmen and public officials have been indicted for public corruption.8 The Chamber of Commerce, Regional Economic Development Corporation and Paso Del Norte Group proceed on the notion that growth is good regardless of the consequences.
Businessmen have taken control of the El Paso Water Utilities/Public Service Board (PSB).9 These businessmen use water bills to subsidize population growth because population growth is good for business. More residents mean more customers and more profits for the business community. However, more residents mean higher water bills, less water, more Ozone and an uncertain future for El Paso families.
The quality of life in El Paso declines with the arrival of each new resident. The ozone level goes up and each residents share of the water supply goes down.
El Paso has already reached the ozone limit prescribed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.10 Each additional automobile, airplane, train, bus or delivery truck will push the ozone level over the limit.
El Paso citizens already use less water per person than any large city in Texas.11 Normally they would use more. They evaporate water to cool their homes and have less rainfall to irrigate their yards.
The El Paso population increased 10.33% between 2000 and 200812 but annual water production decreased 8%.6 Therefore the average citizen was forced to decrease daily water consumption by 16%.13
PSB acquired $757 Million5 worth of new assets ($19,400 per new customer) in the past ten years but water production declined by 2.4 billion gallons a year.6 PSB businessmen are ignoring their duty to bring more water to the people. They are spending water revenues to bring more people to the water because population growth is good for business.
These businessmen are hopelessly confused about the future of El Paso's water supply. On the one hand they say existing facilities provide "sufficient water for growth and development for 50 years and beyond."1 On the other hand they say "Current supplies can meet expected future demands until sometime between 2015 and 2020."2 They make these contradictory statements at the same time and in the same place, the PSB website.
Market forces would normally prevent El Paso from outgrowing its' water supply. The cost of a new home would normally include costs to import water for that home. New residents would either pay the true costs to live in El Paso or choose to live in another city with clean air and a secure water supply.
Unfortunately, PSB businessmen will not allow market forces to prevail in El Paso. They want to keep the price of new homes as low as possible to attract new residents. PSB pays around $7,458 to provide water to each new home.3 They collect 16%19 from the new home owner and bury the remaining 84% in water bills of unsuspecting El Paso Citizens. Thus current citizens are forced to pay a $6,264 subsidy for each new home owner so that El Paso can grow.
Many current citizens can't afford a home for themselves. Yet 20% of their water bill is used to subsidize homes for others (Note 22). El Paso is the third poorest county18 in the United States.
PSB admits to spending $200 Million14 for these subsidies and they plan to spend another $226 Million19 over the next ten years. Then they will spend $630 Million20 to import water. The total cost is $1.056 Billion.
The mayor, city council, PSB and business community argue that growth subsidies create jobs. Poor families argue that:
1) Growth subsidies will cause El Paso to outgrow its water supply. We live in a free market society. The growth rate in El Paso should be determined by market forces, not by secret subsidies. El Paso's poor are being forced to pay for their own demise.
2) Growth subsidies should be paid for with tax money but the $1.056 Billion cost of El Paso growth subsidies is secretly buried in water bills.
3) Most new jobs will go to incoming residents but the growth subsidies are paid for by current residents.
4) The PSB is risking the future of all El Paso citizens for the benefit of the business community. As El Paso grows, the city must overcome serious legal obstacles and pay out $630 Million to import water. Otherwise the city will face a major water shortage. The current PSB will be gone by then, leaving behind $450 Million in debt.
5) Poor families have no voice in the process. The issue has been decided by businessmen appointed to the PSB. Current residents are forced to pay $1.056 Billion for growth subsidies or businessmen will cut off their water.
Although El Paso is the third poorest city in the country, the PSB "President/CEO" makes $508,000 a year.15 The President of the United States makes only $400,000 a year. The PSB President makes more than any municipal employee in the United States and he is the only municipal employee to carry the title of "President." The average municipal employee in his position makes only $114,000 a year. 16
Businessmen take good care of the PSB President and he takes good care of them. He tells El Paso citizens what the businessmen want them to hear.
He told us that the Fort Bliss desalination plant would put and end to the myth that El Paso has a water shortage. However, the PSB's regional water plan shows no additional water for El Paso citizens from the desalination plant.2 The PSB website does not list the desalination plant as a water resource.2
That is because Fort Bliss holds the deed to the desalination plant.17 The desalination plant was a gift to the Department of Defense to entice them to expand Fort Bliss. The cost of the gift may exceed $544 Million (note 21). The cost is being buried in water bills to unsuspecting El Paso citizens. The purpose of the gift was to bring in more customers (soldiers) for the El Paso business community.
After fighting for our freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan, these soldiers are rewarded with a tour of duty in the Chihuahua desert; arranged by wealthy El Paso businessmen and paid for with water bills to poor, unsuspecting El Paso citizens.
Most American cities operate on principles established by the American Water Works Association. Rates are designed to promote equity among customers by charging each customer in such a way that a customer is neither subsidized by nor subsidizes other customers.
PSB businessmen have chosen to ignore those principles. In the end, they will likely take their profits and move to another city to escape the inevitable consequences of subsidizing growth in the Chihuahua desert.
1) http://www.epwu.org/water/desal_info.html
2) http://www.epwu.org/water/water_resources.html
3) The utility connected 3,540 new homes last year. At that rate, the utility will connect 141,600 homes in the next 40 years. The cost to provide water to those new homes is $7,458 per home ($1.056 Billion/141,600 homes).
4) http://newspapertree.com/politics/3957
5) http://www.epwu.org/financial/reports/2008/CAFR_08_stats.pdf Schedule A-4
6) http://www.epwu.org/financial/reports/2008/CAFR_08_stats.pdf Schedule B-4
7) Collapse by Jared Diamond, Chapter 4.
8) http://newspapertree.com/news/3916-public-corruption-101-the-archives
9) http://www.epwu.org/about/overview.html
10) The El Paso Times, Ozone: El Paso barely meets new standard, El Paso Times Staff, Posted: 06/03/2009 12:00:00 AM MDT
11) http://www.texaswatermatters.org/popup_con_cities.htm
12) http://www.elpasoredco.org/ElPaso-PopulationandAge.aspx
13) http://www.epwu.org/financial/reports/2008/CAFR_08_stats.pdf Schedule B-3
14) http://newspapertree.com/news/2928-hot-debate-over-the-impact-of-a-fee-proposal also see https://www.citizensmakethecall.com/is_the_psb_corrupt.htm
15) https://www.citizensmakethecall.com/ceo_employment_contract.htm
16) 2007 AWWA Water Utility Compensation Survey viii
17) https://www.citizensmakethecall.com/desalination_plant_cover_up.htm
18) http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/acs-09.pdf p.25
19) http://newspapertree.com/news/3811-council-split-5-4-approves-impact-fees-on-new-development-builders-upset
20) Letter from the PSB dated February 13, 2008
21) https://www.citizensmakethecall.com/open_letter_to_psb.htm
22) http://www.epwu.org/whatsnew/216090615.html
