Water & Wastewater

Water is vital to survival of any community. At Brownsville Public Utilities Board (BPUB), our three treatment plants have the capacity to provide 47 million gallons of treated water per day, which is well above the city's current peak demand and can serve a population of over 150,000. Brownsville's continued growth is supported by BPUB as it continues to plan for the future through capital improvement projects to increase capacity and environmentally conscious water conservation programs.

The raw water system draws water from the Rio Grande and consists of a river rock weir, a river pump station, two reservoirs providing 186.6 million gallons total capacity, and a raw water transport system. Three water treatment plants provide safe and reliable drinking water. Two surface water plants provide 40 million gallons per day (MGD) of total capacity at 20 MGD treatment capacity each. Additionally, the BPUB owns 92.91% of the Southmost Regional Water Authority (SRWA) brackish groundwater treatment facility, a 7.5 MGD reverse osmosis desalination plant. The SRWA includes a 7.5 million gallon storage tank in addition to a 0.75 million-gallons clear well.

BPUB's three water treatment plants provide 47 million gallons of treated water per day.

Around the city, two clear wells provide 6.84 million gallons storage capacity, and four elevated storage tanks provide 6.0 million gallons of elevated storage capacity. Water is pumped by four high-service pumping stations into the distribution system, which consists of 624 miles of transmission and distribution mains.

The BPUB is subject to regulation of water quality by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality ("TCEQ"). The Board presently has a "Superior" water system as determined in accordance with current TCEQ regulations.