The Texas Legislature’s Joint Interim Committee to Study Water Desalination recently held a series of hearings across the state, and the Texas Chemical Council (TCC) was invited to provide testimony.
The joint interim committee, co-chaired by Sen. Craig Estes (R-Wichita Falls) and Rep. Todd Hunter (R-Corpus Christi), held public hearings in Austin, Corpus Christi (with a special focus on ocean water desalination) and Wichita Falls (with a special focus on brackish groundwater desalination).
I testified before the committee in Austin and emphasized the chemical manufacturing industry’s dependence on water, and the importance of a sustainable source of water to protect our industry’s current and future investments and the economic benefits to the state. The current drought has wreaked havoc across our state and threatens the viability of billions in economic investment opportunities within our industry, as well as our state’s public water supply for the foreseeable future.
The chemical industry needs a sustainable supply of process water and has made significant strides in conservation, reuse and recycling. However, there have already been instances where member company facilities have been challenged in securing the water they are legally entitled to. As a result, our industry is very supportive of the state’s interest in looking across the spectrum of water technologies that might help ensure a sustainable water supply for our state’s growing population and thriving manufacturing sector.
Desalination involves the removal of salts and dissolved solids from saline water (brackish or seawater). In addition to the removal of minerals, the process removes most biological or organic chemical compounds. Most desalination processes are based either on thermal distillation or membrane separation technologies. A desalination plant essentially separates saline water into a stream with a low concentration of dissolved salts (the fresh water stream) and a stream containing the remaining dissolved salts (the concentrate or brine stream).
Desalination is a viable technology that is already in use within our industry, and there are numerous process technologies developed and used by our member companies for desalination and in their water treatment processes.
When considering industry as a water customer, it is important to note the vast majority of our water use is for cooling and heating purposes and does not require the same drinking water quality standards that exist for municipal drinking water supplies.
Therefore, stakeholders must understand industries may be looking for a cheaper alternative to that which may be needed for a municipal water supply. As the shale economy has created a manufacturing renaissance within our industry, an assured water supply is the common goal for all, and the chemical industry looks forward to working with the Texas Legislature to examine how desalination and other water strategies — like conservation, reuse, recycling and reducing evaporation — may be viable for both the state and industry.
For more information, visit TCC or ACIT at www.txchemcouncil.org or www.acit.org, or call (512) 646-6400.
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