This desert city gets less than 9 inches of rain a year and experienced the two hottest years in its recorded history in 2023 and 2024. But El Paso Water started planning decades ago for this hotter, drier climate. Last Thursday, the utility broke ground on its latest project to secure water for the city of 700,000: an advanced water purification facility that will deliver 10 million gallons per day of purified water from the city’s wastewater stream directly into its drinking water supply.