SAWS Breaks Ground on Brackish Groundwater Desalination Program

Parsons announced that San Antonio Water System (SAWS) hosted a groundbreaking ceremony to kick off construction of its brackish groundwater desalination program. Event participants included SAWS trustees and San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro as well as other state and local dignitaries.

In 2013, Parsons—along with a joint venture partner—was selected by SAWS to serve as the construction manager at-risk for this critical program. The scope of work includes 13 raw water production wells, raw and finished water conveyance, residual conveyance, three deep injection wells, a reverse osmosis membrane water treatment plant, a 7.5-million-gal-per-day finished water storage reservoir, chemical treatment systems, supervisory and data acquisition controls, and a new administration building that incorporates the first phase of the desalination plant and public access facilities.

“As a member of the joint venture team providing construction management at-risk services for San Antonio Water System’s brackish groundwater desalination program, Parsons is honored to have participated in last week’s ceremony, which marked an important step forward for the project,” said Garry Higdem, Parsons group president.

“We look forward to assisting our customer in their efforts to both advance their sustainable water supply strategy and meet the community’s future water needs,” added Virginia Grebbien, Parsons group president.

Construction has begun and completion of the first phase is slated for 2016—with two additional phases to follow. When completed, SAWS’ plant will be the largest inland desalination plant in the United States.

Source: Parsons