Doña Ana County explores desalination, wastewater reuse and operator training to bolster water supply

Doña Ana County commissioners discussed plans on Feb. 4 to pursue desalination, wastewater recharge and workforce training as tools to shore up long-term drinking-water supplies.

The county’s assistant county manager, Steven Lopez, told the commission the county sits above substantial brackish aquifers and that tapping them with desalination and related projects could provide a local source of water “first” because those brackish zones are not covered by interstate water compacts. “This is also one of those topics that nobody else in New Mexico has talked about yet. So we would be leaders in the state,” Lopez said.

Lopez summarized options presented during a recent utilities convening hosted by the county and RCAC: desalination of deep brackish aquifers, returning treated wastewater to the aquifer through injection wells, flood-water capture and injection, and physical or regulatory linking of water systems to add redundancy. He said U.S. Geological Survey data show a brackish “sweet spot” roughly…