In March 2016, Water. Desalination + reuse (Faversham House) reported that Texas firm Enviro Water Minerals (EWM) was teaming up with Veolia to extract minerals from the brine of the KBH (Kay Bailey Hutchison) desalination plant close to El Paso, described as the largest inland facility of its type worldwide. The new zero-discharge facility was to turn reverse osmosis concentrate into saleable products while supplying 2,000 m³/day (2 Ml/d) of drinking water to El Paso. Start-up was planned for early 2017, with Veolia holding a ten-year operation and maintenance contract.
The report showed brine disposal being seen in 2016 as a key obstacle for inland desalination, with resource recovery from concentrate set to be tested at plant scale as an answer.