Background
The Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas is facing increasingly severe and prolonged droughts, and water scarcity will likely intensify with ongoing economic and demographic growth. These pressures underscore the urgent need for water efficiency measures in the region. In this context, Donna Irrigation District, Hidalgo County No. 1 has been dealing with water availability issues resulting from high water conveyance losses attributed to seepage, evaporation, overflows and operational inefficiencies in canals built more than 50 years ago.
In addition to providing water to agricultural accounts for irrigation, the District also supplies raw water to the water treatment plant (WTP) owned by the City of Donna and to the largest treatment facility operated by the North Alamo Water Supply Corporation (NAWSC), a rural utility that owns and operates various water supply systems. Together, these two plants provide drinking water to residents in eastern Hidalgo County, Willacy County and northwestern Cameron County.
To improve its operational efficiency and resiliency, the District is undertaking water conservation projects to upgrade and modernize its transmission infrastructure.
Project Scope
The Project consists of improvements to the District’s raw water conveyance system, including:
Canal-to-pipeline conversion
Pump station & operational resiliency improvements
-
-
Installation of solar-powered battery backup starters at two pump stations, which will provide standby electrical power for control panels, ignition systems and auxiliary equipment, allowing the natural-gas-driven pumps to start and operate automatically during power outages.
- Installation of solar-powered flow meters, automated gates and overflow monitoring stations throughout the conveyance network.
Benefits
The Project will increase the reliability of drinking water service for approximately 213,000 people, many residing in low-income, disadvantaged communities in Donna, rural Hidalgo County and Willacy and Cameron counties. The system improvements are expected to save an estimated 2,290 acre-feet of water annually. In addition, the technical upgrades will strengthen operational efficiency by enabling real-time flow regulation and data reporting, optimizing water deliveries and ensuring uninterrupted service in the event of power outages.
