The climate crisis is advancing faster than the solutions, and water is the starkest reflection of that urgency: more than 2,000 million people live today under severe water stress, and South Texas is becoming a microcosm of this global challenge. Prolonged droughts, depleted aquifers, and accelerated population growth are putting pressure on Kleberg and Nueces, where every day without new alternatives is equivalent to leaving thousands of families and businesses vulnerable to supply cuts and economic losses.
In this context, the alliance between South Texas Water Authority (STWA) and Seven Seas Water Group represents a transformative and visionary response: the construction of a brackish water reverse osmosis (BWRO) plant that will turn a hitherto marginal resource into more than 3 million gallons per day (≈11,350 m³/day) of drinking water. This volume is equivalent to the annual consumption of more than 30,000 households, a figure that tangibly illustrates the magnitude of the change.
The strategic objective goes beyond supplying water: it seeks to guarantee water resilience, sustain the region’s economic development, and protect the human right to water amid growing climate uncertainty. Its location in Kingsville, Texas, responds to the urgency of shielding the region against extreme droughts. The project involves STWA as the public authority, Seven Seas as the technological and financial operator, and will have external verifying entities that certify compliance with internationally recognized standards of quality, efficiency, and transparency.
Beyond the infrastructure, this project symbolizes the Water Positive approach, by transforming a pressured aquifer into an engine of sustainability and prosperity. Aligned with the principles of Volumetric Water Benefit Accounting (VWBA 2.0), it is grounded in intentionality (responding to a real water challenge), additionality (generating a capacity that did not exist in the baseline scenario), and traceability (digital and physical monitoring of flows, salinity, and energy efficiency).
South Texas faces one of the most critical water situations in its history: dependence on surface and groundwater sources on the verge of collapse, rising costs for raw water, and increasingly extreme climate variability have put the region on the ropes. This technical and environmental reality creates the strategic opportunity to redefine the supply model and ensure a stable supply for the population and the local economy.
The answer is clear: a brackish water reverse osmosis (BWRO) plant in Kingsville, Texas, using state-of-the-art technology to transform brackish groundwater into a safe, reliable potable resource. The treated volume will reach 3 million gallons per day (≈11,350 m³/day), which is equivalent to more than 1,000 million gallons annually of regenerated water, enough to cover the needs of more than 30,000 households or to drive the development of key productive sectors.
The benefits are direct and immediate: reduced pressure on overexploited aquifers, regeneration of water for human consumption, substitution of costly and vulnerable sources, and a significant improvement in the region’s water resilience. In addition, the project helps reduce the environmental footprint by optimizing energy efficiency with recovery systems and by ensuring brine reject management in line with regulations.
Behind this transformation stand South Texas Water Authority (STWA) as the driving public authority and Seven Seas Water Group as the specialized developer and operator under the Water-as-a-Service model, which minimizes initial CAPEX, transfers operational risks, and accelerates tangible results. The verifiable, transparent framework positions the partners as leaders in ESG compliance and water governance.
This is a highly replicable model in other regions of the U.S. Southwest, where brackish aquifers abound and traditional sources are scarce. Acting now is key: each year of delay increases economic costs, social risks, and climate vulnerability. Companies with sustainability commitments and ESG objectives will find in this project not only a path to regulatory compliance, but also a competitive and reputational advantage that connects them with the transition toward a new water economy.
The proposed technical solution consists of a modular BWRO plant with advanced pre-filtration and next-generation membranes, selected after evaluating alternatives such as surface-water RO plants and transfers, which were discarded due to higher cost, environmental impact, or lack of climate resilience. Its design allows operation with variable aquifer salinities and ensures a stable capacity of 3 million gallons per day (≈11,350 m³/day), representing more than 4 billion liters of safe water per year. It is a hybrid, gray and digital, solution that combines physical infrastructure with smart monitoring.
The technical justification rests on its ability to resolve aquifer overexploitation and basin climate vulnerability, with selection criteria based on energy efficiency (kWh/m³), competitive cost per cubic meter, regulatory compliance, and the ability to replicate it in other arid regions. Strategically, it links to the Water Positive roadmap and VWBA 2.0 principles, ensuring additionality, traceability, and intentionality for every cubic meter generated.
Expected benefits include water security for more than 30,000 households, reduced costs for imported water, resilience to extreme droughts, and lower emissions associated with water transport. Additionally, it helps protect aquifers by reducing extraction pressure and enhances environmental quality through the safe disposal of brine. Social benefits include service continuity, regional economic stability, and the creation of specialized technical jobs. Economically, the solution provides operational resilience, ESG compliance, access to certifications, and a strong reputational advantage for stakeholders.
As for risks, potential technological failures, hydrological variability, social acceptance, and saline intrusion risks are considered. To mitigate them, redundant pumping and membrane systems are incorporated, along with contingency plans, shared governance between STWA and Seven Seas, and online monitoring protocols with SCADA + IoT that ensure early anomaly detection. Long-term resilience is guaranteed by an adaptable modular design, preventive and predictive maintenance protocols, and annual external verification of key performance indicators.
The model is scalable and replicable across multiple basins in the U.S. Southwest with similar brackish aquifer conditions and water stress. Its competitiveness versus other alternatives is demonstrated by cost/benefit indicators, energy efficiency, and the ability to meet state and federal regulations. Public-private partnerships, inclusive governance, and the involvement of technology entities ensure expansion, consolidating a solution of tangible, measurable, and sustainable impact.
Implementation will follow a staged, adaptive scheme designed to guarantee physical and digital traceability from baseline definition to continuous, validated operation. The process is structured in three main phases. The first, diagnosis and design (2025–2026), will include hydrogeological and salinity studies, consumption modeling and water-stress projections, together with the installation of piezometers, sampling stations, and IoT sensors for flow, pressure, and conductivity. This stage will establish the baseline reference in terms of water quantity and quality, losses, and emissions, enabling a robust point of comparison for with- vs. without-project analysis.
The second phase, construction and installation (2026–2027), will involve modular assembly of the BWRO plant equipped with advanced pre-treatment and energy-recovery systems, selected for its robustness and smaller footprint compared with alternatives such as transfers or new drilling. A centralized SCADA, ultrasonic flow meters, multiparameter probes, and dedicated energy meters (kWh/m³) will be incorporated. The nominal capacity will be 3 MGD, with a performance above 85%. During this phase, laboratory and online quality-control protocols will be established, with continuous measurements and periodic sampling validated by third parties.
The third phase, operation, validation, and continuous improvement (from 2027 onward), will entail a progressive start-up with external audits, contractual delivery of guaranteed volumes, and annual verification of benefits using VWBA and WQBA methodologies. KPIs will include: m³/year of water supplied, specific energy consumption, saline rejection rate, contaminants removed, emissions avoided, unit costs, and certified VWBs. These data will be recorded on an IoT platform with blockchain traceability, generating automatic reports and alarms in case of deviations. In addition, with- vs. without-project comparisons and feedback plans will be integrated to continually optimize operations.
As for governance, STWA will assume institutional oversight and Seven Seas the technical operation under the Water-as-a-Service model, with external verifiers certifying results. A preventive and corrective maintenance plan with predictive protocols will be established, ensuring system resilience to climate variability and saline intrusion. Long-term benefits will be guaranteed through periodic audits, technology updates, and shared governance agreements on the use of the generated water, thus strengthening community trust and the social license to operate.
The project consists of building and operating a brackish water reverse osmosis (BWRO) plant with an initial capacity of 3 million gallons per day, conceived as a gray-and-digital infrastructure intervention that will transform brackish groundwater into safe, reliable drinking water for the communities of Kleberg and Nueces. Technically, the process integrates stages of intake via wells, advanced pre-filtration, high-pressure pumping, next-generation reverse osmosis membranes, energy-recovery systems, and post-treatment with disinfection in accordance with WHO parameters, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and ISO 14046 and 24512 standards. The system is designed to deliver a stable flow exceeding 11,000 m³/day, with optimized energy performance and continuous monitoring through IoT sensors and a SCADA platform.
The relevance of this solution lies in its response to the structural overexploitation of aquifers and the climate vulnerability of South Texas. Compared with the baseline situation, dependence on exhausted, costly sources, the project provides a robust, resilient, and cost-efficient alternative source, reducing pressure on the existing water resource. This technological choice, versus alternatives such as transfers or new drilling, is justified by its greater reliability, lower environmental impact, and alignment with regional sustainability goals.
Concrete results include the annual provision of more than 4 billion liters of drinking water, the reduction of critical contaminants such as total dissolved solids, salts, and trace metals, and a direct improvement in the quality of the resource available for human consumption. Additionally, the project generates benefits associated with reduced emissions linked to water transport, protection of coastal aquifers against saline intrusion, and the creation of skilled jobs in operation and maintenance. From a social perspective, it helps ensure public health and equitable access, while economically it provides stability for local industry and services.
Strategically, the initiative integrates into the Water Positive roadmap by generating an additional volumetric benefit verifiable under VWBA 2.0 methodology and by contributing to global commitments such as SBTi, NPWI, SDGs, and ESRS E3. It offers stakeholders tangible ESG advantages: strengthened social license to operate, institutional and corporate reputation, regulatory compliance, and competitive differentiation versus other water-management models.
Model replicability is high, as it can be implemented in multiple basins across the U.S. Southwest and in other geographies with abundant brackish aquifers and high water stress. Its scalability depends on technical conditions such as the availability of marginal groundwater, the existence of enabling regulatory frameworks, and social acceptance. Public-private partnerships, coordination with local governments, and collaboration with technology companies facilitate expansion and ensure lasting results.
The final expected impact is compelling: contributing to the regional water balance, increasing resilience to climate change, and ensuring sustainable economic growth. At the same time, it generates positive social effects in terms of employment, access to water, and community strengthening. This project conveys to investors, customers, and society that it is possible to lead a transition toward a regenerative water economy, in which every cubic meter produced represents resilience, sustainability, and confidence in the future.
