H2Orizon is expanding the capacity of the reverse osmosis plant located off Horizon Boulevard in a long-awaited upgrade to the district’s available drinking water.

The expansion is part of the multi-project improvement bond approved by voters in 2012.

Reverse osmosis works by running brackish well water through a series of sophisticated filters until it is clean enough to drink. H2Orizon’s reverse osmosis plant has been in operation since 2000. With the expansion, the plant will be able to treat the additional water generated by the two new wells and pushed by the new pump stations.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) oversees consumer water in Texas and measures quality in Total Dissolved Solids (TDS). Water extracted by the district’s wells near Interstate 10 usually emerges at 1600-1700 TDS, but typically reaches 900 TDS once it passes through the RO plant. The state has determined that 1,000 TDS is the acceptable water quality for drinking.

Construction on the RO plant expansion began in late 2019.

The first step of increasing the size of the RO Plant is drilling new wells. These images show the drilling of wells 10 and 11 to keep up with the growth of Horizon Regional MUD.