Identifying Economies of Size in Conventional Surface Water Treatment and Brackish-Groundwater Desalination:

ABSTRACT: Two primary potable water-treatment technologies used in South Texas include conventional surface-water and reverse-osmosis (RO) desalination of brackish-groundwater. As the region’s population continues to grow, municipalities are searching for economical means to expand their water supplies. Economies of size for both technologies are an important consideration for future expansion decisions. The 1944 Treaty requires the United States and Mexico to share the downstream water release from these two1 reservoirs (Sturdivant et al. 2008). In addition to sharing the water, the treaty requires the United States to provide Mexico with 1.5 million acre-feet per year from the Colorado River, while Mexico must provide the United States with 350,000 ac-ft from the Rio Grande River (Spencer 2005)