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Aerial views from over the flats and sand dunes north of South Padre Island, Texas. A new joint venture called RGV Desal aims to build a 50 million-gallons-per-day desalination plant on South Padre Island.<\/p>\n
David Garrison\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
The founders of a new joint venture called the RGV Desal project are hoping their plans for a billion-dollar desalination plant<\/a> will prevent the Rio Grande Valley from experiencing the same kind of water catastrophe that is currently looming over Corpus Christi<\/a> and the Coastal Bend.\u00a0<\/p>\n What is the\u00a0RGV Desal project?<\/p>\n The\u00a0RGV Desal project<\/a> is a plan to build a massive seawater desalination plant on South Padre Island that will be capable of offering water suppliers throughout the region a supplemental potable water supply, as several factors have decreased the reliability of the Rio Grande<\/a>, where the Valley sources more than 75% of its water.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n A seawater desalination plant is a facility that converts ocean water into usable fresh water by removing salts, minerals and other impurities, making it suitable for drinking and agriculture use.<\/p>\n The project is a privately funded joint venture between a relatively new company called US Desalination\u00a0LLC<\/a> and IDE Technologies, an Israeli-based company that specializes in building seawater desalination plants. It\u2019s a project that has been in the works for nearly two years, according to Douglas Allison, one of US Desalination\u2019s owners. And it comes amid a years-long drought, booming residential and industrial growth, and a diplomatic policy stalemate with Mexico over the Rio Grande\u2019s headwaters.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are aware of the demands on the Rio Grande river. We are aware of the issues with Mexico<\/a> on the river. We\u2019re very aware of the groundwater situation and that it has limited capacity in the Rio Grande Valley,\u201d Allison told\u00a0MySA on Monday. \u201cWe\u2019re very aware of the population growth\u2026 of the industrial growth \u2014 the large-volume users at the Port of Brownsville, especially.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n How much will the\u00a0RGV Desal plant cost?<\/p>\n Allison estimates it will cost approximately $1 billion to build a\u00a0desal plant capable of producing 50 million gallons of fresh water daily, but the company is also exploring the potential of expanding to as much as 120 million gallons daily.<\/p>\n Where will the\u00a0RGV Desal plant be built?<\/p>\n The project will be built on the northern end of South Padre Island<\/a> \u2014 outside the city limits<\/a>, but well before the point where Park Road 100 ends in a pile of untamed sand dunes. The company \u201crecently acquired the rights\u201d to a 25- to 30-acre parcel of land near where the proposed Second Causeway<\/a> is expected to be built.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n A new joint venture called RGV Desal aims to build a 50 million-gallons-per-day desalination plant on South Padre Island.<\/p>\n Reed Kaestner\/Getty Images<\/p>\n When will the RGV Desalination plant be built?<\/p>\n The\u00a0RGV Desal project is still in the planning phases. However, Allison hopes that the permitting process for the facility could be completed in as soon as 18 months and that the plant could come online within the next 3 1\/2 to 5 years.<\/p>\n Who will be\u00a0RGV Desal\u2019s customers?<\/p>\n The company hopes to sell its water to regional water suppliers and local public utilities. Already, organizations such as the\u00a0Brownsville Public Utility<\/a>, McAllen Public Utility<\/a>, East Rio Hondo Water Supply Corporation, North Alamo Water Supply Corporation and others have expressed interest in the project.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Allison also expects a number of heavy industry<\/a> operators that have announced billions of dollars<\/a> worth of investments at the Port of\u00a0Brownsville<\/a> to become some of the end users of RGV Desal\u2019s water.<\/p>\n How will\u00a0RGV Desal impact the local environment?<\/p>\n The desalination plant would have minimal negative impacts on the local environment and marine life thanks to the use of \u201cgold standard\u201d technology that will allow the plant to both intake seawater and discharge effluent brine over a mile offshore, Allison said.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cThe footprint of any increased salinity would be very, very small,\u201d Allison said.<\/p>\n RGV Desal looked to Corpus Christi for what not to do<\/p>\n Between the Valley\u2019s explosive growth, the anticipated arrival of major new industries and the\u00a0stressors impacting the region\u2019s water supply today, Allison said now is the time to begin working on such a large-scale project because there\u2019s still time for \u201cdoing it right.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re really pleased that we\u2019ve developed the relationships in the Valley to do this project before it gets to be the 11th hour. And I think we\u2019re right on track for that,\u201d Allison said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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