Desalination pilot starts this summer; council presses for modeling results and broader water strategy

City staff briefed the council on progress at the Inner Harbor Water Treatment Campus — the city’s seawater reverse‑osmosis project — outlining demonstration‑plant steps this summer, the timing for modeling and regulatory review, and an accompanying communications plan.

Brett Benhazel, director of the program management office, said the project is working in phases. Phase 1a is near completion with a June 1 target for deliverables including a basis‑of‑design report and an early cost model; staff will present that cost range to council in July. Phase 1b began in April and focuses on further design, long‑lead procurement (notably high‑voltage transformers) and demonstration planning. Construction is slated to start in early 2026 with completion of the project’s major construction in 2028; Kiewit would operate the plant during a one‑year handover before the city takes over operations.

Benhazel described the demonstration plant that will be built on port property. Water will be taken from the Inner Harbor Ship Channel, treated through dissolved air flotation and ultrafiltration, then reverse osmosis. The plant will produce a product water stream and a brine stream, both returned to the Broadway Wastewater Treatment Plant for final handling during the demonstration.

GHD (subcontractor to Kiewit) will perform near‑ and far‑field hydrodynamic modeling required by the…