San Antonio to become home to nation's largest desalination plant
July 7, 2014 | By
Barbara Vergetis Lundin
San Antonio Water System (SAWS) is constructing what will become the largest inland desalination plant in the country. The plant will desalinate groundwater from deep in the Wilcox Aquifer in southern Bexar County in Texas. "Desalination is another tool in the portfolio that we are using to serve San Antonio," said SAWS President and CEO Robert R. Puente. "There are 'oceans' of brackish water under our feet unaffected by temporary weather conditions, so this is a supply that will be there for us even in drought." Desalination pushes the salty water through reverse osmosis membranes with holes that are 100,000 times smaller than a human hair, removing 97 percent of the salts and minerals in the water. Once treated, the water will be blended with water in the rest of the SAWS system. A major water pipeline will be built to help deliver the water from southern Bexar County to the western part of the city. The desalination plant, which opens in 2016, will produce 12 million gallons per day. Additions to the plant are scheduled for 2021 and 2026. When all is said and done, the plant will produce 30 million gallons per day. Phase 1 comes with a hefty $192.7 million price tag. All three phases will cost $411 million in total. As part of the Texas State Water Plan, SAWS has accessed more than $100 million in low interest loans from the Texas Water Development Board to help offset some of these costs. For more:
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