Reclamation Waives Client Use Fees at Brackish Groundwater National Desalination Research Facility (BGNDRF).
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The Bureau of Reclamation is actively seeking clients, such as universities, private sector companies, entrepreneurs, and other government agencies, to benefit from the Brackish Groundwater National Desalination Research Facility (BGNDRF), located in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Reclamation is waiving fees typically charged for test area rental, potable and source water use, and electrical service through September 2017.
BGNDRF provides varying levels of service and support depending on the needs of the client. Services range from connecting a client’s test unit to the facility and delivering the specified source water, to participating in research through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA).
Established in 1902, the Bureau of Reclamation is an agency of the United States Federal Government with a mission of managing water in the arid Western United States where elevation and climate are highly variable, ranging from mountains to desert, and floods to droughts. Ensuring sustainable and ample supplies of water to meet the broad spectrum of societal and environmental needs is a mission that intersects multiple Federal agencies. As such, Reclamation seeks partners to help find new and better solutions to those critical problems where there is a shared interest and responsibility.
In 2001, Congress called for Reclamation and Sandia National Laboratories to design a desalination research facility for technology development to address inland desalination issues including concentrate and salt disposal, scaling due to the predominance of compounds found in groundwater, and water recovery efficiencies associated with groundwater. Alamogordo, New Mexico, located 80 miles north of El Paso, was selected as the site, and BGNDRF opened in 2007.
BGNDRF has 5 focus areas: concentrate management, renewable energy desalination hybrids, produced water treatment, small scale desalination systems, and public outreach and education. The facility is a 43 acre complex comprised of a central research building, outdoor test pads, a 5-acre agricultural research area, renewable energy test areas and 4 brackish water wells including a storage and source water delivery system. Research, development and demonstration work are conducted by a variety of organizations including universities, private sector companies, entrepreneurs, and government agencies.
Source water from the brackish water wells vary in total dissolved solids from 1,100 mg/L (Well 1) to 5,700 mg/L (Well 2). Source water is delivered at flow rates up to 30 gpm (113 L/min) at each of the 6 indoor test bays and 60 gpm (227 L/min) at each of the 3 outdoor test pads. The large scale, outdoor test pad is capable of deliveries of up to 150 gpm (568 L/min) and more depending on certain parameters. Indoor test pads and outdoor test areas are equipped with dedicated power (120, 240, 480 V), data ports, source water, potable water and concentrate disposal ports. The indoor test bays are additionally equipped with instrument air.
As a research-friendly facility, BGNDRF has flexible operating hours of 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, depending on the needs of the client. To save clients time and money, BGNDRF holds a discharge permit from the New Mexico Environmental Department for discharging concentrate into the facility’s evaporation ponds and agriculture research area. Nearby universities are available for collaborative efforts and several people from the local community are available as quality, part-time technicians.
For more information about partnering with BGNDRF, please contact Randy Shaw, BGNDRF Facility Manager, at rshaw@usbr.gov or (575) 443-6553. Visit the BGNDRF website at www.usbr.gov/research/AWT/BGNDRF.