1. EL PASO WATER UTILITIES (EPWU)
KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON DESALINATION PLANT
Transforms a previously unusable supply of brackish
groundwater into 27.5 million gallons of potable water per day .

2. Waste concentrate disposal presents a unique challenge
for inland desalination facilities, but EPWU selected deep-
well injection, commonly used in the petroleum industry, as the
preferred disposal method. It costs less and has fewer
environmental impacts than alternatives such as conventional
evaporation ponds and thermal/mechanical drying
technologies. EPWU found a suitable disposal site after
studying geological and hydrological conditions, examining
seismic data and taking water samples.
EL PASO WATER UTILITIES (EPWU)
KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON DESALINATION PLANT
Transforms a previously unusable supply of brackish
groundwater into 27.5 million gallons of potable water per day .

3. The plant site includes surface injection facilities and three
deep injection wells that are between 3,700 and 4,000 feet
deep. The well sites are essentially identical and equipped with
buffer tanks, solar power systems with generator backup,
communication equipment and a series of control valves that
regulate the flow of concentrate into a groundwater aquifer.
The wells were drilled in the Silurian Fusselman Formation, a
fractured dolomite, and the underlying Montoya Formation, a
fractured limestone.

4. This site is well-suited for Waste concentrate disposal
because the concentrate is of higher quality than the
groundwater it is being mixed with, and the overlying limestone
and rock configurations prevent upward movement of the
concentrate. This prevents brackish water intrusion and
protects existing fresh water reserves.
While groundwater modeling indicates storage sufficient for the
injection of up to 3 million gallons of concentrate per day for 50
years, the actual rate of injection is based on plant operations
and system demands.