Assessment of Brackish Groundwater Desalination for Municipal and Industrial Water Supply in Santa Teresa, New Mexico

Transcription

1 Cooperative Agreement Project between NMSU and U.S. BoR Stakeholder Meeting, October 24, 2017 Assessment of Brackish Groundwater Desalination for Municipal and Industrial Water Supply in Santa Teresa, New Mexico Project team: Drs. Phil King, Pei Xu, Brian H. Hurd, KC Carroll, Dr. David Johnson, Xuesong Xu, Alfredo Z. Rodriguez Project partners: Border Industrial Association (BIA) Camino Real Regional Utility Authority (CRRUA) Dr. John W. Hawley, N.M. Bureau of Geol.& Miner. Res. Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua

2 Research Background Santa Teresa is a bright spot for economic development Land Port of Entry to Mexico Union Pacific intermodal transportation facility Growing industry base Need sustainable water infrastructure

3 Investigate the hydrogeologic, technical and economic potential for desalinating brackish groundwater in the Santa Teresa- San Jeronimo area Conduct a proof-of-concept demonstration with a pilot desalination plant and existing brackish wells Research Objectives Develop an organizational and financial plan for moving forward with desalination implementation

4 Research Updates Working with local entities to assess water demand, current supply, and binational potential Developed dialog with Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua s Department of Civil Engineering colleagues as project collaborators

5 Research Updates Conducted literature review on geophysics- and geochemistry-based assessment of the Mesilla Basin (Teeple (USGS), 2017) Dissolved-solids-concentration data collected during for 239 wells with water depth from 0-1,750 ft The TDS concentrations in the northern part were generally less than 1,000 mg/l In the southern part, TDS concentrations > 1,000 mg/l were common, but 3,000 35,000 mg/l water were found especially with increasing depth Water Depth: A, 0 feet. B, 250 feet. C, 500 feet. D, 750 feet

6 Research Updates Conducted literature review on geophysics- and geochemistry-based assessment of the Mesilla Basin (Teeple, 2017) Dissolved-solids-concentration data collected during for 239 wells with water depth from 0-1,750 ft The TDS concentrations in the northern part were generally less than 1,000 mg/l In the southern part, TDS concentrations > 1,000 mg/l were common, but 3,000 35,000 mg/l water were found especially with increasing depth Water Depth: E, 1,000 feet. F, 1,250 feet. G, 1,500 feet. H, 1,750 feet

7 Research Updates Conducted literature review on geophysics- and geochemistry-based assessment of the Mesilla Basin (Teeple, 2017) Of the 44 groundwater samples collected, 82% represented Nadominated water types, specially Na- Cl-SO 4 or Na-HCO 3 water types, with the Na-Cl-SO 4 water type being the most common (70.5%). 18.2% near the Mesilla Valley Fault zone represented Ca-Cl-SO 4 or Ca- HCO 3 water types

8 Research Updates Conducted literature review on geophysics- and geochemistry-based assessment of the Mesilla Basin (Teeple, 2017) Combined nitrate plus nitrite (NO 3 +NO 2 ) < 8.38 mg/l Sparingly soluble salts may cause scaling, e.g., silica concentration between 14.5 mg/l and 85.1 mg/l Below detection limit of selected pesticides Conducted water quality analyses for five groundwater samples from the southern part of the Mesilla Basin Found elevated As (7-25 ug/l), Na ( mg/l), TDS ( mg/l), and high spatial variability Desalination is needed to produce safe drinking water and sustain the economic development!

9 Pilot Test/Demo Updates Acquired pilot-scale test units from NMSU Testing pilot-scale desalination system using reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF) membranes

10 Future Research Tasks Assessment of demand Assessment of the brackish water resource for supply and disposal Characterization of hydrologic connection with Rio Grande system Treatment technology and proof-of-concept field demonstration Binational potential

11 Reference Teeple, A. P., Geophysics- and geochemistry-based assessment of the geochemical characteristics and groundwater-flow system of the U.S. part of the Mesilla Basin/Conejos-Médanos aquifer system in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, and El Paso County, Texas, Scientific Investigations Report , prepared in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation.