Rio Grande Valley Reuse: How One Texas Utility Is Using Water Reclamation to Aid Conservation

For more than 20 years the Public Utility Board of the City of McAllen, Texas, has invested in using reclaimed water to conserve potable water. McAllen, which is in Hidalgo County in South Texas in the Rio Grande Valley bordering Mexico, has a population of roughly 146,000 and began providing reclaimed water 20 years ago to an electrical power company for its cooling towers and to irrigate a local golf course. Many communities in Deep South Texas that produce reclaimed water use it for these reasons, as the cost of producing potable water in the drought-prone region is higher. In recent years, McAllen sought to expand its water portfolio further.

The McAllen Public Utility (MPU) operates the city’s water and wastewater infrastructure. On the drinking water side, McAllen’s two water treatment plants have a minimum daily production capacity of about 58 MGD of water. The utility also operates a 1.4 MGD groundwater well, which give McAllen’s water system the capability of producing approximately 60 million gallons per day.