Perry Hester

EPWater ready to welcome full river season

Perry Hester — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 17:56:03 +0000

For the first time in years, El Paso Water will welcome a full river season beginning March 8 when Elephant Butte Reservoir opens its gates.

Not since 2009, have we been close to the 60,000 acre feet of water expected this year. The scheduled allotment this year dwarfs 2023’s 38,500 acre feet.

With Elephant Butte at 25% capacity, we are expecting the river season to flow through October – a full 30 weeks. This is welcome news after enduring years of severely reduced river water supply and drought cycles – such as 2021’s short 10-week season and 2013’s 12 weeks.

Our water supply

When it’s plentiful, river water can account for nearly half our water supply. During an abundant season like this one, our community’s river water supply is dependent on bountiful snowpack from Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico. The snowmelt flows downstream into Elephant Butte Reservoir, where it is held in storage.

Compared to previous recent February volumes when Elephant Butte capacity was about 6%, current conditions are favorable, showing the benefits of a strong El Niño weather pattern over the winter.

Because of EPWater’s diverse water supply, we have weathered many brief river water seasons, choked off by severe drought cycles. For many years, water reuse has been an effective water management strategy. Reclaimed water is a valuable resource for industry and the irrigation of parks, golf courses and a cemetery. Additionally, we treat reclaimed water to drinking water standards to replenish the Hueco Bolson aquifer.

We count on our world-renowned Kay Bailey Hutchison Desalination Plant, which has helped us meet our city’s water needs in times of drought or freeze. With an expansion underway, the world’s largest inland desalination plant will increase production from 27.5 million gallons of fresh water per day to 33.5 MGD.

Conservation continues to be an important tool to reduce demand. We rely on our attentive customers to be prudent as temperatures climb. We encourage watering smarter and sticking to our time-of-day watering schedule.

At our plants

As water slowly trickles into dry riverbeds, we anticipate that river water will flow into our system for treatment around March 14. Our two plants that take in river water – the Robertson/Umbenhauer and Jonathan Rogers – are ready for the season, as well as their hard-working teams. Both plants will benefit from recent maintenance projects. System improvements, such as large valve replacements in waterlines – will also help us move water around the city more efficiently from our plants.

Right in time for river season, our plant teams will also benefit from a recent partnership with the Success Through Technology Education Foundation, Western Tech and the non-profit Trust for the Americas to prepare candidates with introductory skills for jobs in water and wastewater plants.

Select students who graduate from the program March 4 may advance to apprenticeships as Utility Plant Technician Trainees and eventually may secure a plant operator position. Graduates from the first cohort focusing on wastewater have begun their careers at all four of our wastewater plants.

We are ready for the 2024 river season but will meet it with cautious optimism. Because the next drought is always around the corner, we take nothing for granted in the Chihuahuan Desert and have learned to go with the ebb and flow of drought.

Our water supply planning process extends decade after decade into our city’s future. EPWater is well prepared to take on drought with sustainable options that will enable our community to thrive.

New Price-1645 Rayado Creek Ln

Perry Hester — Thu, 15 Aug 2019 15:07:17 +0000

Just listed-7340 Lakehurst Rd

Perry Hester — Thu, 15 Aug 2019 15:04:38 +0000

Recently Sold-6420 Franklin Ridge Dr

Perry Hester — Thu, 15 Aug 2019 15:02:04 +0000

New Price-333 Windrose

Perry Hester — Thu, 15 Aug 2019 14:54:17 +0000

New Price-6204 Franklin Hawk

Perry Hester — Tue, 16 Jul 2019 14:48:39 +0000

Just Sold-6225 Loma de Cristo

Perry Hester — Tue, 16 Jul 2019 14:48:03 +0000

Wave of Hispanic Buyers Shores Up U.S. Housing Market By Laura Kusisto and Ben Eisen Wall Street Journal

Perry Hester — Tue, 16 Jul 2019 14:47:26 +0000

Homeownership rate for Hispanics has increased more in recent years than any ethnic group

Hispanics are experiencing the largest homeownership gains of any ethnic group in the U.S., a turnaround for the population hardest hit by the housing bust that could help buoy the market for years.

The homeownership rate for Hispanics has increased more during the past several years than any race or ethnic group, including whites. The rate, which hit a 50-year low in 2015, has risen 3.3 percentage points since then, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

A New Survey Suggests How Much a Kitchen Remodel Might Cost You by Mitchell Parker, Houzz

Perry Hester — Thu, 05 Jul 2018 15:05:31 +0000

A New Survey Suggests How Much a Kitchen Remodel Might Cost You

It’s a good starting point, but the true cost will depend on regional and other factors

Many things in life can be boiled down to one central concern: What’s this going to cost me? When it comes to remodeling a kitchen, the answer isn’t always straightforward. The size of your space, the scope of work involved, your DIY abilities, the quality of materials you choose and even your geographic location all play a part. But if you’re going into it blind, a new study from Houzz, which surveyed more than 1,700 users about their kitchen renovations, can give you a solid jumping-off point and offer ideas on how you might allocate that budget.

Let’s first take a look at some overall average breakdowns based on the size of a kitchen. The survey distinguishes between large kitchens (200 square feet or more) and small kitchens (less than 200 square feet). This Los Angeles kitchen would be considered large at 295 square feet.

We start with size because your square footage will generally dictate the amount of materials you’ll spend money on, so it’s a good baseline. That isn’t to say a 200-square-foot kitchen in New York City will cost the same to remodel as a 200-square-foot kitchen in Houston. Again, a lot of other factors will be at play.

The following are averages of costs reported by homeowners in the survey, and can give you an idea of how to start budgeting.

Parker, Mitchell. “A New Survey Suggests How Much a Kitchen Remodel Might Cost You.” Houzz, Houzz, 12 Jan. 2018, www.houzz.com/ideabooks/101858192/list/a-new-survey-suggests-how-much-a-kitchen-remodel-might-cost-you.

US home prices march upward as buyers fight over low supply by Christopher Rugaber AP News

Perry Hester — Wed, 27 Jun 2018 18:59:48 +0000

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. home prices rose in April from a year earlier, lifted by bidding wars in many cities where would-be buyers fought over a sparse supply of homes.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index moved up 6.6 percent from a year earlier, led by outsize gains in Seattle, Las Vegas and San Francisco. All three cities showed double-digit increases.

Prices rose even as home sales fell and mortgage rates climbed. Sales of existing homes dropped in April and May and are now running 3 percent below their year-ago level. Fewer homes are available — the supply has fallen 6.1 percent in the past year — and they are selling quickly.The average house for sale remained on the market for just 26 days in April, down from 39 a year ago.

Mortgage rates reached a seven-year high of 4.77 percent in late May before declining this month. Last week, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 4.57 percent, according to Freddie Mac. That is still much higher than a year ago, when it was 3.9 percent.

The economy is growing and the unemployment rate is at an 18-year low, which typically would point to stronger home sales. Americans are increasingly turning to newly-built homes, where sales jumped 6.7 percent in May. But higher prices and fewer existing homes to choose from are cutting many Americans out of the housing market.

Prices rose at a healthy pace in Denver, where they were 8.6 percent higher than a year ago; Los Angeles, where they were 8.3 percent higher; and San Diego, 7.8 percent.

The smallest gains were in Chicago, up 3 percent; Washington, D.C., up 3.2 percent; and New York, up 4 percent.

The Case-Shiller index covers roughly half of U.S. homes. The index measures prices compared with those in January 2000 and creates a three-month moving average. The April figures are the latest available.

Rugaber, Christopher. “US Home Prices March Upward as Buyers Fight over Low Supply.” AP News, Associated Press, 26 June 2018, apnews.com/.