Texas Border Business
By Roberto Hugo González / Texas Border Business
During an interview conducted by Sergio Sanchez on KURV 710 AM, Mark M. Ellison outlined details of a proposed billion-dollar desalination project for South Texas, describing it as a long-term solution to regional water shortages.
Ellison, Director of Business Development for Texas at IDE Water Assets, said the project is being developed by RGV Desal, LLC, a joint venture between US Desalination and IDE Technologies. The plan calls for a marine desalination facility on South Padre Island with an initial capacity of 50 million gallons per day, expandable to 100 million gallons per day.
“This is a deal that’s going forward. We’ve acquired a site for the plan on South Padre Island, just north of the city of South Padre Island,” Ellison said during the interview.
According to Ellison, the facility would be privately funded and owned but would operate under a public-private partnership model, selling treated water to public utilities across the Rio Grande Valley. “It will be a true public-private partnership,” he said.
Ellison explained that the project is designed to address increasing water demand driven by population growth and industrial expansion in the region. “We can grow up to a hundred million gallons a day to be able to supply water to both municipalities and industry,” he said.
He acknowledged that desalinated seawater costs more than existing water sources but said it would be blended with other supplies to manage pricing while improving reliability. “You always want to be able to use your lowest cost water first and then, but have that insurance policy, which effectively sees seawater desalination is because the Gulf is not going to go dry,” Ellison said.
The proposed facility would draw seawater from the Gulf of Mexico and return brine as part of the treatment process. Ellison said the permitting phase is expected to take about 18 months, with an operational date projected for 2030-2031.
Ellison pointed to the vulnerability of current water supplies, citing past droughts in Texas, including the 2011 drought, as evidence of the need for additional sources. He said the project is intended to provide a consistent and drought-resistant supply to support long-term economic development.
“The Gulf is not going to go dry,” Ellison said, emphasizing the reliability of seawater desalination compared to river-based sources.
Ellison also said the project could help attract new industries to the region by ensuring water availability. “We want to be part of the team that creates high-wage, high-skilled jobs in the Rio Grande Valley,” he said.
Ellison said desalination would serve as a supplemental supply rather than a replacement for existing water systems.
The interview highlighted the role of desalination as part of a bigger strategy to diversify water sources in the Rio Grande Valley, where communities have historically relied heavily on the Rio Grande. Ellison said desalination would serve as a supplemental supply rather than a replacement for existing water systems.
“The Gulf cannot be curtailed as river water can,” Ellison said.
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