The Role of Water Treatment in Increasing Water Supplies
Yuliana Porras-Mendoza – Advanced Water Treatment Coordinator
Katie Guerra – Chemical Engineer
Benefits of Desalination
Photo credit: livescience.com, irabel8 / Shutterstock.com
Mitigate supply risks
Provide local control of water
supplyDiversify water supply portfolio
Effective for large and small
communities
Application Challenges• Cost (Capital and O&M)• Operational complexity• Environmental impacts• Public perception
New technologies and research advancements can help
overcome these barriers!
Brackish Groundwater National Desalination Research Facility
Supply 4 different brackish water sources
Abundant solar resource Outdoor test pads Laboratory facility 3+ years of meteorological data
Internal and External Research Studies• Science & Technology (S&T) ~$2m in FY17
– Funds Reclamation researchers– Competitive program, open to external partnerships– New call for FY18; proposal currently under review
• Desalination and Water Purification Research (DWPR) ~$5m in FY17– Competitive program
• laboratory scale• pilot scale, and • demonstration scale
– Funds nationwide applicants– O&M of BGNDRF in Alamogordo, NM
NMSU Collaboration
Brackish Groundwater National Desalination Research Facility,
Alamogordo, NM
• NMSU– Competitive R&D by NMSU faculty– Inter-disciplinary “Directed Research”
project
• Reclamation– Collaboration with Reclamation scientists
and engineers– Use BGNDRF and staff support
• Community/Stakeholders– Identify local challenges that can be solved
with non-traditional water supplies
S&T AWT – Pitch to Pilot Seeking innovative water treatment technologies at the pilot scale
Phase I: 15 page white paper
Phase II: In-person “pitch” at BGNDRF in Alamogordo, NM
Received 12 applications, awarded three $100k awards
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Learn more at www.usbr.gov/research/challenges
Authorized by the America COMPETES Act of 2010 (15 USC 3719)
Prize CompetitionsLaunched December 2016
Arsenic Sensor Challenge
More Water, Less Concentrate Challenge
Brackish Groundwater Collaboration with USGS
Interactive map-based tool to evaluate brackish groundwater sources for common beneficial uses