El Paso County Water Improvement District No. 1
Also known as: Rio Grande Prject
Why it's listed
This irrigation district covers the El Paso Valley of the Rio Grande in west Texas, stretching from near downtown El Paso east to Tornillo and bordered on the southwest by Mexico. It consists of two main canals, the Franklin and the Riverside, along with 67 laterals and 37 drains. The Bureau of Reclamation built it between 1912 and 1940, rebuilding some older ditch alignments and creating new ones, and absorbing earlier acequias set up by Hispanic settlers. Today the system includes 206 miles of canals and laterals and 195 miles of drains, serving about 56,000 acres of farmland. Many ditches have been lined with concrete, yet most canals remain earthen, and the basic layout is almost unchanged since construction. Small control features such as checks, drops and gates have mostly been replaced over the past fifty years. The system remains in active use and still works on its historic design. The listing covers only publicly owned canals and drains, with 104 contributing structures.
Significance in brief: The visible text covers only the description, not the significance statement. It shows a large early 20th century federal irrigation system that replaced earlier Hispanic acequias and is still fully functional. The basic layout of its ditches and drains is almost unchanged since construction, while many smaller control structures have been replaced.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 97000885, listed August 25, 1997. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Starting at the jct. of US 80 and US 85, along TX 20 to Alamo Alto, El Paso |
|---|---|
| County | El Paso County |
| Listed | August 25, 1997 |
| Reference number | 97000885 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | Bureau of Reclamation (U.S. Reclamation Service before 1923) |
| Areas of significance | Agriculture, Engineering |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Fully functional irrigation system in current use, though many minor control structures have been modified or replaced in the past 50 years. |
| Acreage | 4834 |
| Coordinates | 31.57856, -106.25242 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 97000885.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q109999584
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.