March 2017 Vol. 72 No. 3
Newsline
San Antonio Desalination Plant Supplies Water to 53,000 Homes
San Antonio Water System (SAWS) introduced a truly new drinking water source: desalination.
While desalination is usually associated with sea water, SAWS project pumps salty – or brackish – water from deep in the Wilcox Aquifer under south Bexar County as the source for this purified drinking water. Desalination pushes the salty water through reverse osmosis membranes (see photo) with holes that are 100,000 times smaller than a human hair, removing 97 percent of the salts and minerals in the water.
The newly added 12 million gallons per day is enough water to supply 53,000 households.
“Desalination is another tool in our water portfolio that we are using to serve a growing San Antonio,” said SAWS CEO and President Robert R. Puente. “There is an ocean of brackish water under our feet unaffected by drought.”
The desalination plant is located at the H2Oaks Center in southern Bexar County, the only location in the country where three different sources of water are produced. It desalinates water, pumps and treats Carrizo Aquifer water, and stores Edwards Aquifer water in the Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) site on the property.
“This is another step in the right direction toward adding new supplies for San Antonio’s future,” said SAWS Board Chairman Berto Guerra, Jr.
San Antonio Water System provides water and wastewater services to more than 1.6 million consumers in the San Antonio region. SAWS is the national leader in water innovation with the nation’s largest direct recycled system and the largest groundwater based Aquifer Storage & Recovery facility.
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