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Brownsville utility details multimillion-dollar plan to boost local water supply and launch reuse pilot
Summary
PUB and SRWA officials told the commission that Brownsville currently produces about 7.5 million gallons per day, is operating under Stage 2 drought guidance, and is pursuing upgrades, an 8-MGD indirect potable reuse pilot and a potential expansion to 20 MGD that would cost more than $180 million—funding dependent on grants.
Joseph Coleman, a Brownsville Public Utilities (PUB) board member and SRWA president, outlined city water-supply conditions and multiyear projects at the Nov. 18 City Commission meeting. He said SRWA currently produces about 7.5 million gallons per day (MGD) and that reservoir levels and river allocations are low, putting the utility in Stage 2 drought conditions. "We're at roughly 26%" capacity in the reservoirs, Coleman said.
Coleman framed two near-term options: optimize the existing brackish-groundwater desalination plant to reach 10 MGD (the optimization work was described as a roughly $42,000,000 project) and pilot an indirect potable reuse project expected to provide about 8 MGD at an estimated…
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