Executive Committee Meeting Minutes
New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute
Las Cruces New Mexico
May 22, 2002
Attendees
Lorenzo Arriaga - USBR/El Paso
Tom Jennings - USBR/Denver
Del Holz - USBR/Denver
Mike Landis - USBR/El Paso
Bobby Creel - NMWRRI
Eddie Livingston - Livingston & Assoc.
Paul Kinshella - City of Phoenix
Signa Larralde - USBR/ABQ
Ed Fierro - City of El Paso
Mike Norris - USBR/Yuma WQIC
Mike Hightower - Sandia National Laboratory
Jim Pacheco - Sandia National Laboratory
Karl Wood - NMWRRI
Rick Huff - USGS/Las Cruces
Pat McCourt - City of Alamogordo
Steve Easley - City of Alamogordo
Jim Sizemore - NM State Engineer's Office
Jeff Steinborn - Sen. Bingaman's Staff
Welcome/Goals and Objectives- Mike Hightower
Mike welcomed members of the Executive Committee (EC) to the meeting for the Tularosa Basin Desalination Research Center - Facility Study. Mike had everyone introduce themselves and then reviewed the proposed meeting agenda and presented the following meeting goals and objectives:
* Review presentations and discussion of the Feasibility Study status at the Multi-state Salinity Coalition, AMTA regional meeting in El Paso, congressional staffer discussions, and at the New Mexico Town Hall on Water.
* Overview of Feasibility Study web site.
* Discuss recent evaluations including renewable energy design ideas, interest in concentrate disposal research capabilities, and a proposal to donate land for the facility.
* Conduct a 60% design review
Facility Study Status Presentations - Mike Hightower and Tom Jennings
Mike gave an overview of the presentations that he and Tom Jennings of the BOR had recently given on the status of the Facility Study since the last meeting in April. The first presentation was given in Las Vegas to the Multi-State Salinity Coalition on April 30, 2002. At this meeting were about twenty participants from the major southwestern metropolitan cities including, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tucson, Scottsdale, and El Paso. Each of these cities is pursuing desalination activities and are interested in inland desalination research and issues, particularly concentrate disposal issues. The participants were given an overview of the project, the participants, the goals and objectives of the facility study, the progress to date, and the proposed schedule for neat-term activities. They were very receptive to the potential for the research center and several members expressed interest in participating on the executive committee.
Tom and Mike also gave a joint presentation to the AMTA regional conference in El Paso on May 9, 2002. The conference included about 100 industry and municipality participants. Again, they were given an overview of the project, the participants, the goals and objectives of the feasibility study, the progress to date, and the proposed schedule for neat-term activities. Many of the participants supported a regional center where data could be collected on different quality waters at one site. Some industry representatives though did not believe that the facility was needed, suggesting that site water varied so much that demos would be needed at each site individually.
At the New Mexico Town Hall Meeting on Water in Socorro on May 17-19, lots of interest centered on desalination. Mike discussed the Tularosa Basin Facility Study with several people including members of Sen. Domenici's and Bingaman's staffs, and several state legislators. Mike also coordinated a trip to Carlsbad in mid-June to meet with state senators, the mayor of Carlsbad, the county commission, and members of the economic development group to discuss desalination and produced water treatment issues and coordination with the Tularosa Basin facility.
Mike mentioned that members of Sen. Domenici's staff have asked to tour the potential sites in Alamogordo on May 31, 2002. Mike and Tom have coordinated that tour with Pat McCourt the City Manager of Alamogordo. The tour will include Edie Livingston, Pat, Tom Jennings, Mike Hightower, and Mike Landis and Lorenzo from the BOR.
The Executive Committee agreed that it was important to continue to keep people informed of our progress. The committee generally agreed with the information in the presentations and that it conveyed the right focus of the projected utility of the facility and the attributes and advantages.
Facility 30% Design Review - Livingston & Associates
Mike turned the remainder of the meeting over to Eddie Livingston, the consultant selected to conduct the feasibility study. Eddie introduced Ian Watson who is helping with the feasibility study and has experience designing over 80 desalination plants world wide. Eddie has been working with the City of Alamogordo on the development of a desal facility and has extensive knowledge about the water resources of the Tularosa Basin and desal research.
The Executive Committee decided to break the presentation up into three parts to insure time to address each of the major design issue. The three parts were site location evaluation, facility design concept evaluation, and site layout and brine disposal option evaluation. Each of these three major areas was discussed individually.
Jeff Steinborn - Sen.Bingaman's Office
Mike introduced Jeff Steinborn of Sen. Bingaman's Office. Jeff mentioned the Senator's interest in this area and that he would continue to follow the work of the group. Jeff mentioned that he would also like to take a tour of the sites being investigated and would work with us to get the tour set up.
Facility Study Web Site - Bobby Creel
>p>Bobby gave a preliminary overview of the Facility Study web site. He expects the site to be up and running online by the end of May. The group discussed information to go on the site and concluded that all the presentations, overview, mission, status, meeting minutes, participants, etc. should be included. Bobby will include all this information on the site. The web address is:
Facility 60% Design Review - Livingston & Associates
Mike brought up several new issues before turning the remainder of the meeting over to Eddie Livingston, the consultant for the facility study. At the last review the group had asked that renewable energy be considered as much as possible for the operations of the facility. Mike had spent several days working with solar engineers and Sandia's energy efficiency engineer to review the likelihood and cost of a total renewable energy building, siting needs for this type of design, etc. The suggested design changes by the Sandia engineers were incorporated into the site layout, building orientation, and building design for the 60% design review. Mike handed out the recommendations from the Sandia renewable energy engineers to the group.
The second issue was the fact that a private developer (Westsource) has offered to donate between 20-30 acres of land in an industrial park within the Alamogordo city limits as the location for the research center. The site is on the south side of town, near other sites we have been looking at. The group agreed that the site should be investigated and fully reviewed.
Third, based on the discussions and interest at the Multi-state Salinity Coalition meeting on concentrate disposal research, the orientation of concentrate disposal areas was modified in the site plan.
Site Location Evaluation and Discussions
Eddie gave a more detailed presentation on the sites proposed in the 30% review, concentrating on the top three sites and the new Westsource site. All four are on the south part of town near the intersection of the White Sands Highway and the El Paso Highway and truck bypass. The group agreed to select one site and identify a backup site based on the following ten criteria including, availabilty of water rights, costs to upgrade, visibility, capability to expand (about 10 acres), ease of access, available buffer zone, NEPA considerations, proximity to water and other utilities and the city water reuse line, political preferences, and issues with aviation hazards (birds) from the expected disposal pond research areas. Final site selection included BOR NEPA support staff, and several Executive Committee representatives. Following the meeting the group traveled to Alamogordo to rank the sites. Based on the developed criteria they ranked our original Site 3 as the top candidate.
Site 3 - Within the Alamogordo city limits and south of downtown was ranked highest. It is near intersection of major bypass and White Sands highway so lots of traffic. Approx. 40 acres of city owned land that they are willing to donate. Near city water recycle line for possible treated water application. Water depth 70-100 feet and water quality 3000-15000 ppm TDS within 6 miles. City has water rights that could be transferred to this site. City utilities are available.
Issues at the other sites included smell from the sewage treatment plant at one site, proximity to airports at another, and a lack of utilities at another site.
Site Plan
Based on recommendations from the Sandia engineers, the 30% site plan was reoriented to enable a south facing front exposure. The disposal ponds were also moved to the northeast corner of the site so the prevailing wind from the southwest would blow any water from the disposal research area away from the facility and other research areas. The committee liked these changes and suggested that the solar energy research area be moved away from the disposal research area and that the disposal research area include room for a solar pond. This suggested that the site needed more room to expand and that a buffer zone for expansion of about 10 acres be included in the site planning process. This will increase the expected site needs to about 30 acres. The committee also thought that if the facility is to be used as a learning center that the exterior research areas should be made compatible with self guided tours. That should be included in the 90% design along with a suggested landscaping plan.
Facility Floor Plan and Layout Discussions
Eddie handed out a revised conceptual design for the floor plan for the facility based on previous comments and suggestions for a solar building. The changes included use of a split-level design with a one-story office suite in front of a highbay test area. This allows clerestory windows in the high bay to use direct day lighting in the highbay area. The computer room and water chemistry areas were enlarged and the shop and chemical storage areas moved around to match the new office space layout. The one story office area allows the use of photovoltaic shingles across the front of the building to provide power for the facility. The split-level design allows for insulation of parts of the building and provides a natural porch area to look out over the test bays. The test bays were reduced to five plus one bay for a permanent RO pilot system for plant water. The facility would also have a heat pump cooling and heating system.
Discussions centered on additions and things to consider including the following general consensus items:
* Add office area adjacent to the water lab.
* Reduce size of computer room (has gotten too big).
* Include provisions for a crane inside shop.
* Floor plan layout to facilitate routing of tours and the need for protection of tour participants.
* Expand entryway into a learning center with room for exhibits.
* Need for a janitors closest.
* Rework of exterior façade to be more aesthetic.
* Use renewable energy applications where practical, but do not let it totally drive the design.
Presentation by the City of Alamogordo - Pat McCourt
Mike Hightower introduced Pat McCourt, the City Manager of Alamogordo. Pat introduced Steve Easley a City commissioner. The City of Alamogordo is still very interested in the research facility being located within the Alamogordo city limits. The committee agreed to continue to pursue the evaluations of sites in or adjacent to the city and agreed to keep the city informed of the progress of our activities.
Next Steps
There was general consensus from the meeting participants that the design was moving along but that a final site needed to be selected and used as a baseline for cost estimates.
Do to the July 4th holiday, the Executive Committee decided to meet the second week of July. Since the Multi-state Salinity Coalition is meeting July 10th, we need to meet either before or after that meeting. Based on conflicts with the Bureau of Reclamation, USGS, and Sandia personnel, we have selected as our next meeting date, Friday, July 12th in Las Cruces at the NM WRRI.