El Paso boosts its drinking water supply thanks to Enviro Water Minerals and Veolia's new partnership

EL PASO, Texas, Feb. 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Enviro Water Minerals Company (EWM) awarded Veolia a 10-year operations and maintenance agreement to manage its new commercial water plant in El Paso to enhance the city's supply of drinking water.  EWM has broken ground on the new water production and chemical manufacturing facility located next to the city's Kay Bailey Hutchison (KBH) Desalination Plant, the world's largest inland desalination plant. 

This zero-discharge wastewater facility will be equipped with EWM's cutting-edge technology to recover minerals and desalinated waste brine discharged from brackish water reverse osmosis (BWRO). The innovative plant will take the waste brine concentrate from the KBH Desalination Plant, extract and transform salts and minerals into commercial products, and produce more than two million gallons of drinkable water a day for the region.

Hubble Hausman, CEO of EWM, stated "Waste brine disposal has long been the Achilles' heel of inland desalination facilities. Our El Paso project will demonstrate that it is possible to produce multiple marketable chemical and mineral products from the waste brine while increasing the recovery of potable water and eliminating waste."

Steve Hopper, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Veolia North America's Industrial Business, said, "As the global leader in desalination from both a technology and operational perspective, Veolia brings considerable expertise to the partnership. We're backing our experience with an operational performance guarantee that will play a critical role in the project's success.  Our mission of Resourcing the World is built around the idea of developing, preserving and replenishing resources, so we're excited to be part of this project to provide El Paso with additional water sources while also preserving the environment through sustainable solutions and resource recovery technologies." 

The EWM plant will create up to two million gallons per day of additional drinking water from the waste and help extend the life of the Hueco Bolson Aquifer for future generations. The project is a great example of cities and industry working together to benefit communities and the environment. Scheduled to begin operations in early 2017, the plant is estimated to have an economic impact of about $7.7 million in El Paso and create local jobs.

Comments from community leaders

"I want to commend everyone involved in the collaborative effort to bring Enviro Water Minerals to El Paso and for moving the development process forward with the announcement of Veolia's operations and maintenance agreement. The new plant will be bringing high quality, high paying jobs to El Paso. In addition to new jobs for our community, the investment made by Enviro Water Minerals will have a significant impact on all El Pasoans through the production of more than two million gallons of water per day. This plant and the continued progress prove that El Paso is a leader in the water industry." El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser

"El Paso has vast brackish water resources.  This partnership will provide an important key to helping unlock expansion options for our desalination plant, which along with other strategies, will serve the long-term water needs of our community." El Paso Water Utilities President and CEO John Balliew

"Today's announcement is the next step taken by our local leaders and business community to ensure the environmental solvency of our region.   As we work to draw new businesses to the North American Borderplex, today's decision shows that our region is putting great thought into the management of its new investments and creating a high quality of life for our residents." Rolando Pablos, Chief Executive Officer of The Borderplex Alliance

"It's important that we continue to enhance our community's already successful efforts to preserve our precious water resources. El Paso Water Utilities through its many efforts, which include building the world's largest desalination plant, have made El Paso a leader for other communities to follow.  The innovative technology offered by Enviro Water Minerals, in collaboration with Veolia, will build on these successes, while adding jobs and a significant economic investment.  Investments like this ensure El Paso remains a leader in water resource technology." El Paso County Judge Veronica Escobar

About Enviro Water Minerals

Enviro Water Minerals Company, Inc. is a Texas-based company commercializing cutting-edge technology to recover the minerals discharged in wastewater from brackish water desalination plants. Utilizing proven, commercially available technologies in unique and innovative configurations, EWM chemically separates the wastewater into high-purity, industrial-grade mineral products that can be sold in commercial markets. All contaminants are extracted from the wastewater stream, leaving only potable water and thereby alleviating the desalination plant's wastewater discharge and its associated environmental hazards. For more information and contact details, visit www.envirowaterminerals.com.

Veolia group is the global leader in optimized resource management. With over 179,000 employees* worldwide, the Group designs and provides water, waste and energy management solutions that contribute to the sustainable development of communities and industries. Through its three complementary business activities, Veolia helps to develop access to resources, preserve available resources, and to replenish them. In 2014, the Veolia group supplied 96 million people with drinking water and 60 million people with wastewater service, produced 52 million megawatt hours of energy and converted 31 million metric tons of waste into new materials and energy. Veolia Environnement (listed on Paris Euronext: VIE) recorded consolidated revenue of $29.6 billion* in 2014. www.veolia.com
(*) 2014 pro-forma figures, including Dalkia International (100%) and excluding Dalkia France.

SOURCE Veolia

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