Project Details
Location: Alice, Texas
Customer: City of Alice, Texas
Technology: Brackish Water Reverse Osmosis Desalination
Capacity: Initial 3 million GPD with expansion options
Challenges
- Dependence on third-party for delivery of water supply
- Need to create a self-sufficient and drought-proof water supply
- Concerns over long-term operations
Water-as-a-Service® is set to deliver 3 million gallons of raw water a day to the city while reducing costs
Texas faces many of the same water challenges faced by regions around the world: rising demand and aging infrastructure, as well as the need for water supply resilience in an unpredictable climate.
The city of Alice, Texas, has been piping in fresh water from Lake Corpus Christi to nearby Lake Findley with customer supply via a traditional water treatment plant. With the cost of raw water rising, and concerns over the impact of drought on the surface water supply, city leaders decided they needed an alternative source of water for more resilience, more water independence, and lower costs.
The alternative was the region’s brackish-water aquifers. The city secured $5.5 million from a state revolving fund (SRF) for the first phase of a brackish-water desalination project. Before proceeding with the second phase of the project, the city decided to consider a public-private partnership approach to compare with 100% financing via the SRF.
Increasing Capacity Without Upfront Capital
Seven Seas Water Group was able to demonstrate that by financing the desalination plant with private sector capital and completing the source wells and pipelines with SRF finance, the city could lower water supply costs while transferring the plant delivery risk, process risk, and long-term O&M risk to Seven Seas Water Group. We negotiated a Water-as-a-Service® (WaaS®) contract with the city to build and maintain a desalination plant, becoming the first brackish water public-private partnership project in the state.
When the 18-month permitting, design, and construction phase is complete, Seven Seas Water Group will operate and maintain the plant, providing a guaranteed volume of raw water to the city’s purification plant at a guaranteed price per 1,000 gallons. After 15 years, ownership of the desalination plant will be transferred to the city.
Water Production Handled by Water Professionals
More than a decade ago, Seven Seas Water Group originated WaaS® BOO and BOOT projects and has been operating them successfully ever since. Because we enter into long-term contracts, we design and build the highest quality infrastructure and maintain it to last beyond warranty periods. Our success is aligned with the success of our partners.
Our team also handles all staffing for the plant and can employ from the local workforce upon request, allowing city managers to redirect their energy toward other pressing missions, secure in the knowledge that their water supply is in the hands of water professionals.
Having a reliable and resilient new source of water at a lower cost will help ensure greater growth and well-being for Alice residents and businesses.
“The Seven Seas Water Group WaaS® approach offers an all-inclusive service package with no upfront capital investment, removing the unnecessary burden on taxpayers. We are pleased with the final contract and the price and solution offered by Seven Seas Water Group to provide clean water for our community.”
Alice City Manager Michael Esparza
Water When You Need It, Where You Need It
Seven Seas Water Group can help your community address its water needs the way we’re helping Alice, Texas. Don’t let water risk become a water crisis. Contact us to discuss your municipal water needs and challenges, and learn how Water-as-a-Service® can deliver guaranteed, risk-free water.
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