WESLACO, TEXAS - Brownsville Mayor John Cowen, Jr., says he made the most of the recent RGV-2-DC trip by pushing for more federal funding for his city’s big desalination project.
The trip, held June 12-14, was organized by the Rio Grande Valley Partnership. Cowen said that on the trip he met with officials with the Bureau of Reclamation.
“So, the main agency that we met with that has a lot of funding that we can tap into is the Bureau of Reclamation. They currently have $2.5 billion that they need to spend on projects. So, I think that was a good place to start,” Cowen told the Rio Grande Guardian in an exclusive interview.
“And, apparently, the White House also has discretionary funding that they can allocate towards to this initiative.”
According to the Southmost Regional Water Authority (SRWA), the SRWA Brackish Groundwater Treatment Facility, located on FM 511 in Brownsville, Texas, uses microfiltration and RO membrane technology to treat brackish (salty) groundwater and produce high quality drinking water for five SRWA partners.
The project provides for an alternative water supply source away from the Rio Grande for the majority of the SRWA partners.
Construction of the original desalination plant was completed in 2004, producing as much as 7.5 million gallons per day (mgd).
In 2015, the SRWA completed improvements to provide microfiltration membrane pretreatment and expanded RO membrane treatment to allow the plant to produce up to 10 mgd.
Asked if he spoke about Mexico’s water debt to the United States while in D.C., Cowen said: “I think Congress is really focused on making sure Mexico provides the water that they owe. That's like, priority number one.”
Cowen continued: “I think we really need to be working on what we can control which is conservation and also being more sustainable in terms of… for Brownsville, we have our own desalination plant and I want to expand it. I want to optimize it and expand it and that's it's very expensive. So, getting funding for that, it is crucial for me. But that plant also services the region. So, I think that's a big asset there.”
The Guardian interviewed Cowen immediately following a press conference hosted by RGVP to review the RGV-2-DC trip. Like Mayor Cowen, the RGV Partnership has made water shortage its No. 1 legislative agenda item.
In his remarks at the press conference, Cowen said: “In my opinion, the number one issue that we're facing is our water shortage. Hopefully, with the rain that potentially might be coming, we'll get some relief. But from a long-term perspective, we really need to be strategic and not just focus on one city. We need to focus on the 47 cities in the Rio Grande Valley, and how we can all be sustainable going forward, because we are all experiencing tremendous growth.”
Cowen said increased prosperity is coming to Valley communities.
“But we cannot get there without that crucial resource (water). So I think that was my number one goal going out of this trip. And I think we had some really great conversations and potential funding sources that we can pursue together.”
Cowen said his second big topic on the D.C. trip was infrastructure.
“I think that's another (issue to) focus (on). We need to attract more resources down here to make sure that we're all able to connect efficiently and making sure that we can attract businesses to our region, because we are a very young region, our average age is about 29 years old,” Cowen said.
“We have a lot of land, we have a lot of capabilities when you look at our cross-border partners in Reynosa and Matamoros, and being able to build on that, I think, is going to be it's a real value-add going forward for us.”
Cowen was elected mayor of the Valley’s biggest city a year ago. He said it coincided with the Valley Partnership’s adoption of a new slogan, One Region, One Voice. Cowen said he fully supported the Partnership’s initiative.
“I think these trips to Washington, DC, are crucial to really highlight the resources that we need in order to be a successful region, to be a more sustainable region,” Cowen said.
“When we meet with our legislative delegation, with other congressmen and senators, a lot of people really get their information from the media on what's going on in the RGV and that always doesn't tell the story. So, I think it's important to get in front of our leaders and tell the story of what's happening from our (point of view) and what we need>”
Cowen added: “I was really blessed to be able to travel with this group and I think it sets us up for more success as we move forward.”
Editor's Note: Rio Grande Guardian reporter Patricia Martinez contributed to this story from Weslaco.
Established in 1902, the Bureau of Reclamation is best known for the dams, powerplants, and canals it constructed in the 17 western states. These water projects led to homesteading and promoted the economic development of the West. Reclamation has constructed more than 600 dams and reservoirs including Hoover Dam on the Colorado River and Grand Coulee on the Columbia River.
Today, we are the largest wholesaler of water in the country. We bring water to more than 31 million people, and provide one out of five Western farmers (140,000) with irrigation water for 10 million acres of farmland that produce 60% of the nation's vegetables and 25% of its fruits and nuts.
Reclamation is also the second largest producer of hydroelectric power in the United States. Our 53 powerplants annually provide more than 40 billion kilowatt hours generating nearly a billion dollars in power revenues and produce enough electricity to serve 3.5 million homes.
Today, Reclamation is a contemporary water management agency with a Strategic Plan outlining numerous programs, initiatives and activities that will help the Western States, Native American Tribes and others meet new water needs and balance the multitude of competing uses of water in the West. Our mission is to assist in meeting the increasing water demands of the West while protecting the environment and the public's investment in these structures. We place great emphasis on fulfilling our water delivery obligations, water conservation, water recycling and reuse, and developing partnerships with our customers, states, and Native American Tribes, and in finding ways to bring together the variety of interests to address the competing needs for our limited water resources.
