The City of Alamagordo in New Mexico, USA, announced on 26 March 2013 that it had completed Phase 1 of its Westside Infrastructure Improvements Project, which will eventually include a 6 MGD (22,700 m³/d) desalination plant.
Phase I placed a 24 in (610 mm) water pipeline which will connect to an initial 1.8 MGD (6,800 m³/d) mobile desalination facility and the Snake Tank well field. The mobile desalination facility will treat brackish water through a concentrated, pressure-induced filtration and reverse-osmosis membrane brine system, producing potable water.
Phase II of the Westside Infrastructure project will complete the pipeline from the Westside Booster Station to the mobile desalination facility. Phase III will complete the pipelines in the Snake Tank well field.
Funding for the project, which is currently under budget, was obtained from the New Mexico Finance Authority Drinking Water Revolving (EPA) Loan Fund. The project is part of the city’s overall long‑term 40‑Year Water Master Plan initiative.
A site for the permanent RO plant is being looked at close to the US Bureau of Reclamation’s Brackish Groundwater National Desalination Research Facility.