MISSION, Texas - Armando O’Caña, the former mayor of Mission, has provided more details about this plans to develop a major seawater desalination plant in South Texas.
The president of South Texas Water Development Private Utilities, LLC, attended the Texas Water Foundation’s 2025 Rio Grande/Rio Bravo Binational River Symposium at the Embassy Suites by Hilton in McAllen.
He did so to begin a dialogue with TWF and to network with other executives in the water resources community. While at the symposium, O’Caña gave a brief interview to Ron Whitlock Reports.
Asked for the latest news about his desalination project, O’Caña said: “The desalination water plant that we're building is going to be the answer to the drought-stricken Rio Grande Valley, because it also includes a 250-mile pipeline of water that we desalinate that is going to move through Cameron County, Willacy County, Hidalgo County, Starr County, Zapata County, and all the way to Laredo, Texas.”
O’Caña said his company’s project is important because “it is well-known that Texas is going to run out of water pretty soon.”
O’Caña stressed that his company plans to turn seawater into drinking water. Most of the other projects being talked about for South Texas are destination plants for groundwater, he explained.
“The intent is that we're going to start with three million gallons a day for Phase One. When we get to Phase Five we should be hitting at 75 million gallons a day,” O’Caña said. “Phase One starts with Cameron County. Phase Two starts with Willacy County, and Phase Three starts with Hidalgo County. Phase Four goes to Starr and Zapata and Phase Five is when we ribbon cut in the City of Laredo.”
Here is a video recording of the interview:
