SAWS desalination plant halfway through construction

SAN ANTONIO – Ten years in the making and now it is in the final stretch: the San Antonio Water System's desalination plant has started to take shape, with framing of the facility well underway.

"We're about halfway through construction right now," said Richard Donat, a planner for SAWS.

The plant is scheduled to be complete by next summer and come online by October 2016.

It boasts a unique design and is projected to be the only place in the country to operate water from three different sources: fresh water from the Carrizo Aquifer, water from SAWS' storage facility, and, of course, brackish water from the Wilcox Aquifer.

Wells are already operating, pumping out of the Wilcox Aquifer. In total, nearly 13 million gallons of water per day will travel from the pumps to the desalination plant. Membranes will then continuously filter out the salt. That process will be visible, by design, through windows for all visitors to the plant to see.

"They don't have to go out to the floor to see the membranes or anything like that, but they can stand and look through glass and look at what's happening," said Donat.

The building is designed to be learning tool, with expected tours from all age groups. Universities are also expected to be involved, with designed research space in the plant allotted for students from the University of Texas-San Antonio and Texas A&M San Antonio.

"They can research on this brackish water and find more efficient ways to treat the water," said Donat.

In all, this phase of the project comes with a price tag of $192.7 million.  


About the Author:

Justin Horne is a meteorologist and reporter for KSAT 12 News. When severe weather rolls through, Justin will hop in the KSAT 12 Storm Chaser to safely bring you the latest weather conditions from across South Texas. On top of delivering an accurate forecast, Justin often reports on one of his favorite topics: Texas history.