The State of Texas has a renewed interest in desalination. However, no accurate central database on desalination of Texas facilities existed before this work. Sponsored by the TWDB, The University of Texas at Austin, Bureau of Economic Geology, undertook an exhaustive study of public water systems (PWS) engaged in desalination. A rough estimate of industrial and non-PWS desalination capacity is also given in the report. This study is thought to be the first at the state level to include all PWS facilities with a design capacity approximately ≥0.025 million gallons per day (MGD).
In the course of the study, more than 100 PWS were contacted, along with a few non-PWS facilities. It appears that the State of Texas currently contains about 38 PWS facilities with a desalination design capacity ≥0.025 MGD, a cumulative desalination design capacity of ~52 MGD, and another approximately 50 facilities with smaller desalination design capacity, for a cumulative desalination design capacity of <0.5 MGD. Industrial capacity amounts to roughly 60 to 100 MGD in hundreds of units, mainly in the power and semiconductor industries. These industries typically require water of better quality than that of typical municipal water. The food and beverage industry also make use of desalination units. Their quality requirements are closer to those of municipal water treatment plants.
Summary of results
Type of Desalination Facility |
Number of Facilities |
Cumulative Design Capacity |
PWS ≥0.025 MGD |
38 |
52 MGD |
PWS <0.025 MGD |
>50 |
<0.5 MGD |
Other desalination facilities |
>100 |
60 – 100 MGD |
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NOTE: |
Location of some facilities is only approximate; Texas Statewide Mapping System projection
Facilities with a desalination design capacity ≥1.5 MGD are named |
Map of desalination facilities showing design capacity |
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Design capacity and average production of the desalination units of the 19 facilities with the highest
design capacity sorted by decreasing size |
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We collected information on design capacity and average production, as well as on permeate blending. The vast majority of facilities use reverse osmosis, although a few use the electrodialysis reversal process. Both surface water and groundwater are used as feedwater, whose average TDS is ~1,800 ppm. Concentrate disposal methods vary: evaporation pond, municipal sewer, surface water, and land application. The past few years have seen an explosion of desalination capacity in the state as a whole.
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Time-cumulative desalination design capacity and average production of Texas PWS facilities |
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Final report [pdf]
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