White House Today (1961)

Duration: 0:05:20

Year Published: 1961

Format: 16mm

Sound: sound

Description: Produced by Telenews, this installment of White House Today remarks upon the opening of a desalination plant in Freeport, Texas, on June 21, 1961. In the newsreel, President John F. Kennedy reports from his office in Washington, D.C., commenting upon the importance of desalination and officially opening the facility with the press of a button. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson attends the dedication ceremony in person. The Freeport facility was one of the first seawater desalination demonstration plants in the United States. Built by Dow Chemical Company in cooperation with the United States Department of the Interior, the facility consisted of a long-tube vertical distillation plant capable of processing 1 million gallons per day. It provided water for both the City of Freeport and Dow operations.