LA PAZ – Construction has begun on a desalination plant on the outskirts of La Paz that will produce approximately 200 liters per second of potable water, enough to supply roughly 30% of the city’s daily demand once operational. The project, funded through a combination of federal infrastructure spending and Baja California Sur state bonds, carries an estimated cost of $150 million USD and a projected completion timeline of 24 to 30 months.
The facility is being built on a coastal parcel north of the city near the Pichilingue ferry terminal, where it will draw seawater from the Bay of La Paz through a direct marine intake system. The treated water will be pumped through a new pipeline to the city’s existing distribution network, supplementing the overtaxed aquifer that currently supplies most of La Paz’s 300,000 residents. The aquifer has shown declining water tables and increasing salinity intrusion in recent years, making desalination a necessity rather than a luxury.
The project includes access roads, a reverse osmosis membrane facility, pumping stations, storage and regulation tanks, connecting pipelines, and environmental protection systems designed to manage brine discharge. Environmental review mandates that concentrated brine output be diffused through a deep-ocean outfall rather than released near shore, protecting the bay’s marine ecosystem, which supports both a commercial fishing fleet and the whale shark ecotourism industry that operates from November through April.
La Paz’s water scarcity has been a growing concern for the American expat and retiree community, which has expanded significantly along the Malacon and in the El Centenario suburb west of town. Residential water service in La Paz currently operates on a rationed schedule in some colonias during peak summer months. The desalination plant, once complete, is expected to eliminate summer rationing and support the Marina District development plan that envisions 2,000 new residential units along the waterfront. The municipal water utility OOMSAPAL can be reached at (612) 122-0944 for service inquiries.