Texas Land Commissioner Has Plans to Desalinate Brackish Water
Thirsty for new water sources, Texas has stepped up plans to tap into abundant supplies of brackish groundwater. Brackish water is water with a high level of dissolved solids that is normally considered unusable. But as conventional water sources become harder to find, the possibility of treating brackish water to make it usable becomes more and more feasible. Treatment of brackish water is commonly called desalination.
Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson believes that harvesting and treating the large amounts of brackish water under Central Texas may be the solution to the water shortage. “We can’t plan on taking any more fresh water from the Edwards Aquifer. It takes 30 years to get a new lake permitted and filled. Pipelines cost a fortune,” Patterson said. “If we want to keep growing, we need water and I think [desalination of brackish water] is a common-sense part of that solution.”
