Coping With Increasing Groundwater TDS at the Largest Inland RO Treatment Plant

The presentation provides an overview of the alternatives and the estimated costs for the Kay Bailey Hutchison (KBH) Desalination Facility in El Paso, Texas to deal with increasing TDS levels in the groundwater that they treat using a low pressure reverse osmosis (LPRO) process, and blend the low TDS permeate with groundwater. The groundwater TDS has gradually increased since the plant went on line in 2007. The evaluation determined the impact on permeate water quality of the higher TDS on the RO operation was minimal, but there was a significant decrease on the amount of water that could be blended with the permeate. Additional impacts of the changes were discussed and recommendations were made.