Drilling rigs in the midst of cow pastures are hardly a novelty for
Texans. But on a warm May day at a site about 30 miles south of San
Antonio, a rig was not trying to reach oil
or fresh water, but rather something unconventional: a salty aquifer.
After a plant is built and begins operating in 2016, the site will
become one of the state’s largest water desalination
facilities.
“This is another step in what we’re trying to do to diversify our water
supply,” said Anne Hayden, a spokeswoman for the San Antonio Water
System.
More projects like San Antonio’s could lace the Texas countryside as
planners look to convert water from massive saline aquifers beneath the
state’s surface, as well as seawater from the Gulf of Mexico, into
potable water. The continuing drought has made desalination a buzzword
in water discussions around the state, amid the scramble for new water
supplies to accommodate the rapid population and industry growth
anticipated in Texas. But the technology remains energy-intensive and is
already causing an increase in water rates in some communities.
“If you look around Texas and you look at the climate situation and the
fact that the reservoirs are being drawn down, there just isn’t much of
an alternative,” said Tom Pankratz, the Houston-based editor of the Water Desalination Report, who also does consulting for the industry.
Across the state, 44 desalination plants — none using seawater — have
been built for public water supplies, according to the Texas Water
Development Board. Ten more, including San Antonio’s, have been approved
for construction by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
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