M. Karl Wood Mike Hightower New Mexico Water Sandia National Resources Research Laboratory Institute The New Tularosa National Desalination Research Facility:

M. Karl Wood Mike Hightower New Mexico Water Sandia National Resources Research Laboratory Institute

The New Tularosa National Desalination Research

Facility:

What is it and

What Will it do for the Region?

Current Desalination TrendsCurrent Desalination Trends

• Nearly all use sea water for constant supply of source water and easy concentrate

disposal

• About 12,500 desalination plants in the world

• Supply 5.5 billion gallons per day or 1% of world’s drinking water

• Reverse osmosis and distillation are most common systems



• $10 billion investment expected in next 5 years to increase desalination by 1.5 billion gallons per day

• $70 billion investment expected in next 20 years to increase desalination by 10 billion gallons

per day (1% increase in drinking water)

Major Desalination Need:Major Desalination Need:Technologies to Address Inland IssuesTechnologies to Address Inland Issues

US Saline Aquifers • Inland desalination has major concerns such as saline water availability,energy use, process scale,concentrate disposal

• Needs and applications

are international in scope including the U.S.-Mexico border

• Costs

• The BOR and Sandia received congressional funding in 2002 to:

• Identify desalination research opportunities for a Tularosa Basin facility

• Identify a regional, national, and international role that would complement other “national water research centers”

Tularosa Basin National Desalination Research Facility

Study Objectives

• Develop a preliminary facility design plus operation and management plans

• Complete draft study by 2003

• Develop facility design/build plan for 2004 start of construction

• Sandia and Bureau of Reclamation in Denver managed the study and coordinated all technical support

– Consultant – Livingston and Associates, Alamogordo

– WRRI – meeting coordination, web access of all public information, public outreach, etc.

– USGS – resource availability support


Study Roles and Responsibilities

• Established an executive committee of regional and national desalination and water resources expertsto guide in facility vision and conceptual design


NM WRRINM State EngineerUSGS/NMUTEP

City of AlamogordoCity of El PasoCity of PhoenixCity of Tucson

USBR/DenverUSBR/YumaUSBR/El PasoUSBR/Alb

Sandia LabsLivingston & Associates

Executive Committee


Location Benefits

• Access to municipal, wind, solar, and geothermal energy sources

• Access to large quantities of high permeability, shallow saline

groundwater

• Wide range of water chemistries, over

shortdistances• Many concentrate disposal options

• Focus on inland brackish ground water desalination research

• Evaluate technologies that address environmental issues of concentrate disposal or eliminate concentrate

• Evaluate pretreatment technologies needed for process efficiencies for:A. inland watersB. varying water chemistries C. varying water contaminantsD. produced water


Mission

• Develop cost-effective uses for

smallscale applications

• Develop applications of renewable energy to desalination and concentrate reuse processes

•This focus complements other national water

treatment research centers


Mission

•Executive committee met since

January 2002 , toured Tularosa

Basin sites and pilot desal operations

•Consultant toured BOR Yuma Facility

for background information and

research facility design lessons

•Feasibility study information,

background and concepts,

meeting minutes,

and presentations are available

on WRRI web site @ wrri.nmsu.edu


Feasibility Study Status

•Report with facility design, location,

site plans, and organizational and

management structures is available

on the WRRI web site

•Environmental and cultural investigations completed, well permitting obtained, design/build

planning completed, groundbreaking June 2004


Feasibility Study Status

•Site located for:

easy access

good visibility

water availability

•20 acre site with areas for:

concentrate use research

renewable energy desalination research

~12,000 square foot desalination

research facility


Design Highlights

Desalination facility:

•6 test bays for pilot system

testing at 30 gpm

•control room

•water lab

• research offices

• resource/education room

•conference room

•operations viewing and tour areas

•passive solar building

• Shop and chemical storage areas and exterior pads for large scale and renewable energy applications


Design Highlights


EvaporationPonds

Area forRenewable

EnergyApplications

AndResearch

Area forFuture

Expansion&

Large Scale Testing

Indoor Testing,Laboratories,

AndOffice Areas

Area for Agriculture Research

2 3 4 5 61Storage

AreaShopArea

Offices, Conference Room,Computer Complex, Display AreaLab

Test Bays

Contract Award

Design/build contract with Laguna Construction, Inc.

of Albuquerque on July 30, 2003

Subcontract to Malcolm Pirnie, Inc. to provide:

• Architectural and engineering design services

• Construction administration during actual construction

Contract Award

Well drilling started in October 2003

Presently: 5 productions wells

120 gpm – 1200 TDS

80 gpm – 3000 TDS

160 gpm – 5000 TDS

Summary Schedule

8/18/03 – Project Kickoff

9/9/03 – Presentation to Alamogordo City Council

11/25/03 – 35 % Design Review by Executive Committee



Facility Groundbreaking 29 June 2004

Completion Timeline

• Exterior test areas Water storage and distribution systemJanuary 2005

• Building completion April 2005

• Initial Operation

• Navy system on exterior pads

• Internal research bays operational• Full operation

January 2005

June 2005October 2005

Research Opportunities

• Cooperative Research with government match

(University opportunities)• Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) (Government and Industry on Fast Track)

• Partnerships with other government agenciessuch as EPA, Sandia, Navy, etc.

• Industrial Research Groups (such as the NSF Water

Quality Center at the University of Arizona)

M. Karl Wood Mike Hightower New Mexico Water Sandia National Resources Research Laboratory Institute The New Tularosa National Desalination Research Facility:

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