Analysis of the Economic and Financial Life-Cycle Costs of Reverse-Osmosis Desalination in South Texas: A Case Study of the Southmost Facility.

摘要

Desalination provides a supply alternative for potable water for many communities, along with possible defenses against security threats potentially affecting clean water supplies. The economic and financial life-cycle costs associated with building and operating the Southmost desalination facility (near Brownsville, TX) in South Texas are investigated using the spreadsheet model DESAL ECONOMICSCO. Primary data key to this analysis include actual initial construction costs, annual continued costs (i.e., for source-water acquisition and transport, pretreatment, purification, and delivery), capital replacement expenses, and desalination-process parameters. The input data used reflect the unique location and quality of source water, process-flow design, asset selection and configuration, management structure, local cost rates, and employed operational methods unique to the Southmost facility. Thus, the specific results are only applicable to the Southmost facility for a specific time, but do provide useful information and insight into life-cycle costs for public and commercial desalination facilities in a more general sense. This analysis addresses the economic and financial life-cycle costs of one of the watersupply alternatives for South Texas (i.e., desalination of brackish groundwater), using actual construction and continued costs for an operating desalination facility.