About SRWA
Learn more about SRWA Brackish
Groundwater Treatment Facility
Drought conditions and water supply issues in Southern Cameron County proved that water solutions were needed in the region. As a result, a conservation and reclamation district, known as the Southmost Regional Water Authority (SRWA) was created in 1981 for the purpose of developing water supply strategies for the regional partners. The SRWA partners include the City of Los Fresnos, Indian Lake, Laguna Madre Water District, Valley Municipal Utility District No. 2, Brownsville Navigation District and the BPUB.
By 1993, drought conditions prompted the BPUB to search for a diverse source of water and reduce the dependence on the Rio Grande. Enlisting the regional partners of the SRWA, BPUB spearheaded a cost-effective solution to treat brackish groundwater from the Rio Grande Alluvium.
In 2004, construction of a 7.5 million gallon per day (mgd) Regional Brackish Groundwater Treatment Facility was complete. The BPUB has nearly 93 percent ownership of the SRWA desalination facility. The SRWA Regional Brackish Groundwater Treatment Facility utilizes reverse osmosis membrane (RO) technology to treat brackish groundwater and provide drinking water for participating entities. In 2015, SRWA added microfiltration pretreatment and expanded the RO treatment capacity.
The SRWA project provides an alternate source of water, reducing reliance on the Rio Grande River. At the current capacity of 10 mgd, the plant can save approximately 11,200 acre-feet of surface water diversions per year from the Rio Grande.
