SAWS’s New Plant Turn Salty Groundwater into Pure Drinking Water

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SAWS’s New Plant Turn Salty Groundwater into Pure Drinking Water

The second-largest desalination plant in Texas was unveiled this week in San Antonio, adding significantly to the San Antonio Water System's water supplies.

The plant, which turns salty groundwater into drinking water, can supply up to 4.4 billion gallons per year, enough for 100,000 households. It's located on Hardy Road in South Bexar County.

"Right here in our region, we have billions and billions of gallons of brackish water that is unused and has been unusable," said SAWS board Chairman Heriberto "Berto" Guerra Jr. "SAWS has tapped into the water supply of the future."

SAWS has been working for 20 years to bring online more water supplies from sources other than the drought-prone and contested Edwards Aquifer.

With the desalination plant operating, SAWS now controls three water supplies from one central hub, including its Carrizo freshwater wells and the underground water bank known as Aquifer Storage and Recovery. SAWS changed the facility's name from Twin Oaks to H2Oaks.

"It's going to give us more opportunity because brackish water is an unlimited supply and it's drought-proof," said SAWS plant manager Roberto Macias, who will help operate the facility. "And there's no competition for brackish water."

At the heart of the plant are racks of cylindrical pipes holding membranes that filter out salts as water is forced through them at high pressure. Next to that are a control room full of computer screens and two laboratories, one for water quality testing and one as a guest research laboratory for university students.

The largest desalination plant in Texas is in El Paso.

Many of SAWS' guests Friday remarked on the thought that went into the symbolism of the design.
At the entrance, SAWS used sandstone and limestone blocks to evoke the two types of rock that supply San Antonio's groundwater.

Light fixtures are meant to look like raindrops and ceiling panels like clouds. Around the desalination membranes, interpretive displays built into the floor and windows show visitors where water enters and exits the system and the injection wells where leftover brine is pumped back underground.

SAWS' next challenge will be scaling up the plant over the next decade. The utility hopes it will produce up to 11 billion gallons per year of desalinated water by 2026 but lacks permits for the final 2.2 billion gallons from the neighboring Evergreen Underground Water Conservation District.

Read more on: My San Antonio

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