EL PASO, TEXAS (KFOX14/CBS4) — A potential dam breach at El Paso Water’s Cement Lake in West El Paso could have sent water, sediment and debris into nearby streets within minutes, utility officials said Wednesday during a Public Service Board meeting where leaders presented a detailed timeline of the emergency response.
Felipe Lopez, El Paso Water’s chief engineering officer, said officials were told that once a breach began, “within seven minutes a hole about 60ft wide” could form.
“This would allow a four-foot wave of water with sediment and other, debris to flow down downstream to the streets,” Lopez said…