EL PASO, TEXAS (KFOX14/CBS4) — El Paso Water is moving forward with a project aimed at turning brackish groundwater into drinking water as officials look to expand the region’s supply of safe, drinkable water.
During Wednesday’s Public Service Board meeting, the utility’s board approved a plan to turn brine water, the salty waste product left over from the desalination process, into drinking water.
According to El Paso Water, the plan, in partnership with Upwell Water Critical Material Corporation, would allow the tech-enabled water resource and infrastructure company to treat brine water generated from El Paso Water’s desalination plant in East El Paso and return it to El Paso Water.
The utility said it’s the first-of-its-kind project as officials expect the effort to recover up to 3 million gallons of potable water per day, or about 1.1 billion gallons annually.
In addition to producing drinking water, the project is expected to extract valuable minerals from the brine, creating what officials describe as a process with virtually no waste.
However, it remains unclear how much the project would cost customers, and officials at El Paso Water said it’s still unclear when the private facility will be completed.
While questions remain over the new plan, the item was moved into executive session for legal discussion before the board ultimately voted to approve it.
KFOX14/CBS4 has reached out to El Paso Water for comment.
RECOMMENDED: El Paso Water confirms two new satellite sites now open for free sandbag pickup
Sign up to receive the top interesting stories from in and around our community once daily in your inbox