On This Day

By Princessa

The U.S. Department of the Interior opened the first practical seawater conversion plant in Freeport, Texas. Another had been opened two years earlier in Brazosport, but had not proved as practicable. In June, 1961, the Freeport plant was dedicated by President John F. Kennedy. Using a large-scale evaporation method, the plant was designed to produce a million gallons of water each day. Today, scientific advances have enabled the process to be replaced by reverse osmosis using filtration membranes made of special polymers, and desalination plants such as the one at Freeport are an important source of clean water for the state of Texas - and for many other places around the world.