On April 10, 2024, the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District Board of Directors approved participation in a multi-agency collaboration project to determine the feasibility of seawater desalination as a sustainable water supply for our area.
Historically, the greater Houston area has relied on groundwater as its primary water source, which has led to subsidence, or the sinking of the land’s surface. HGSD’s mission is to prevent further subsidence in our area through groundwater regulation. The District has been successful in reducing subsidence rates, however, with Houston’s growing population comes an increase in water demand and the need to secure sustainable alternative water sources.
Currently, our area’s main alternative water supply comes from treated surface water and there are several ongoing projects to meet growing water demands, like the Northeast Water Purification Plant Expansion near Lake Houston that upon its completion will be able to supply 400 million gallons of water per day. Even though this plant expansion will provide significantly more water for the region, the demand for water is projected to increase as the area’s population continues to grow. Investigating the feasibility of desalinated seawater can offer diversity in our water supply and improve the resiliency of our area as an option to meet future water demands without contributing to subsidence.
In 2022, HGSD conducted an alternative water supply assessment examining the availability of alternative water supplies and advanced water development methods, which determined seawater desalination as a reliable potential future water supply in our region.
The District is proud to partner with the Gulf Coast Water Authority and the Brazos River Authority for this new study to evaluate the feasibility of seawater desalination as a regional water supply strategy including research on who could benefit from this water supply, potential plant size and location, maintenance, and cost estimations.