In Arizona, fresh water sources are currently and will continue to be limited. Natural surface waters are already fully developed, many groundwater sources are being over drafted, and the State’s 2.8 million acre-foot allocation of Colorado River Water could be reduced in response to long term drought and other effects of climate change. One source of water that has been largely untapped is brackish groundwater. A typical brackish groundwater desalting system recovers 75 to 85% of the water pumped from the aquifer with balance rejected as concentrates; so the withdrawal from an aquifer or a brackish surface water source is much greater than the quantity of water delivered. This impacts the useful life of the aquifer and its assured water supply status. Recovering potable water from the concentrate is a costly proposition. Concentrate disposal practices impact water quality, opportunities for reuse, or revenue from developable land. This study seeks to answer the question “at what point will water cost and scarcity make high recovery of brackish water reverse osmosis economically viable?”
This presentation is available to AMTA Members only.
Speaker
- Robert McCandless, PE
Company
- Brown and Caldwell
Event
- AWWA/AMTA Membrane Technology Conference, Las Vegas, NV
Session
- AWWA/AMTA Membrane Technology Conference
Date
- 03/10/14
Media
Keywords
- Desalination, Brackish reverse osmosis (BWRO), Municipal potable water
Reference
- 9669-DP1431