McAllen public utility prepares $300 million desalination project to expand regional water supply

McAllen City Manager Ike Tewell told a business audience that the city’s public utility is preparing a roughly $300 million desalination project intended to provide supplemental and continuous water supplies for McAllen and neighboring communities.

Tewell said the first stage includes city commission approval of funding and the start of construction for test wells. “The public utility is working on a $300,000,000 water desalination project,” he said, adding that the city already supplies water to surrounding communities at times and that the project will enable more consistent, continuous supply.

Tewell said the project grew from multi‑year planning with the legislature and local stakeholders. He described coordinated efforts with state leaders and the Valley delegation to secure funding and urged that power and water investments are “keys to sustaining the industrial growth that this area is poised to see.”

Nut graf: The desalination project is positioned as a major utility investment intended to shore up regional water resilience and support planned industrial expansion, and city officials say initial construction work — including test wells — is scheduled to begin following commission approval.

Details: Tewell said McAllen has operated smaller wells that directly supply the system without special treatment and that the desalination project will expand capacity and interconnections to move water from western to eastern parts of the county. He said the public utility’s initial construction phase will include test wells and related infrastructure; however, specific timelines and a full funding schedule were not provided in the presentation.

Ending: City staff and McAllen Public Utility (MPU) will proceed with early construction work; additional project milestones and procurement items were not cited during the chamber presentation.