Brackish Water Reverse Osmosis Desalination Plant
March 07, 2023 / U.A. Whitaker College of Engineering
Brackish water reverse osmosis (BWRO) desalination of groundwater is believed to be a sustainable method of providing municipal utilities with a high-quality supply in regions where freshwater sources are stressed and not sustainable. A key aspect of water management is the ability to evaluate an aquifer containing brackish water to ascertain future pumping-induced water quality changes and their impacts on the facility operation and economics. The city of Hialeah, Florida, has operated a BWRO facility for the last 9 years.
The use of fresh groundwater in regions with rapid population growth commonly produces conflicts between public water supply, and agricultural and environmental stake- holders. In addition, freshwater pumping from coastal aquifers can induce saltwater intrusion and impact wetland areas, causing an unsustainable consumption of water resources. Therefore, the desalination of saline water from deep aquifers with treatment by reverse osmosis (RO) is an increasingly used water-supply solution in Florida and many other states within the United States, where there are abundant supplies of brackish ground- water.
