Texas Water Development Board approves $64,655,000 to the Laguna Madre Water District (Cameron County) for the construction of a seawater desalination plant

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AUSTIN – (July 24, 2025) – The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) today approved by resolution financial assistance in the amount of $64,655,000 to the Laguna Madre Water District (Cameron County) from the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT)* program, as funded through the Texas Water Development Fund. The Authority will use the assistance for the construction of a seawater desalination plant.

The District could save approximately $7,400,000 over the life of the loan by using the DFund.

With the assistance approved today, the District will construct a new 5 million-gallon-per-day seawater reverse osmosis plant, a seawater intake pump station structure, and a connection to the existing wastewater treatment plant. 

The TWDB is the state agency charged with collecting and disseminating water-related data, assisting with regional water and flood planning, and preparing the state water and flood plans. The TWDB administers cost-effective financial assistance programs for the construction of water supply, wastewater treatment, flood mitigation, and agricultural water conservation projects.

*The SWIFT program includes the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT), the State Water Implementation Revenue Fund for Texas (SWIRFT) and may include the issuance of general obligation bonds through the Texas Water Development Fund. Revenue bonds for the program are issued through SWIRFT.