Mexico has become an international leader in berry growing, ranking as the No. 2 producer in the world. However, the region of St. Quintin suffered from severe droughts from 1985 to 2015, leading to a reduction of land used for agriculture from 28 million hectares to about 7.9 hectares (reduction of 72%). The company Group BerryMex operates the desalination plant to continue the production of berries in the St. Quintin valley.
The electricity for the desalination plant is partially generated by solar panels. A reverse osmosis plant produces 225 L/s fresh water (which is no drinking water). The operators plan to expand the plant to a capacity of 338 L/s.
The project already started in 2012. A longer period of the seven years of project duration was spent do analyze the environmental impacts of the desalination plant and to develop a sustainable infrastructure.