Corpus Christi Mayor Paulette Guajardo has called a special City Council meeting for April 9 to discuss accelerating approval of the Inner Harbor Seawater Desalination Project as the city faces growing pressure to secure new water supplies during a historic drought.
Guajardo announced the special meeting Friday, saying the current timeline to bring the desalination contract before City Council needs to move faster.
“City staff has a timeline in place that anticipates bringing the desalination contract forward in May,” Guajardo said. “Given the urgency of our water situation, that timeline must be immediately accelerated.”
The mayor said the April 9 meeting will focus solely on the desalination project and could allow council members to consider approval sooner than originally planned.
Guajardo said earlier dates were evaluated, but city staff indicated additional time was needed to prepare the contract for council consideration.
“Based on the current timeline, any meeting scheduled prior to April 9 would not allow sufficient time for a contract to be prepared for Council consideration,” Guajardo said.
She said the April 9 meeting provides enough time to finalize the agreement while still responding to community concerns about the region’s water future.
Guajardo is also urging the public to attend.
“I am calling on residents, business leaders, and community stakeholders to attend the meeting and make their voices heard in support of securing a reliable, drought-proof water supply for Corpus Christi,” Guajardo said. “The Inner Harbor desalination project must move forward immediately — there can be no more delays.”
The meeting announcement comes as city officials continue responding to a historic drought and criticism from Gov. Greg Abbott about their handling of the situation.
During a media briefing Friday morning, City Manager Peter Zanoni emphasized that the city is not immediately running out of water but acknowledged the drought has intensified the urgency to expand supply.
“We’re not running out of water. This is no time to panic,” Zanoni said. “We have 76 million gallons of new water supply coming online.”
Zanoni said multiple water projects — including groundwater wells, wastewater reuse and seawater desalination — are designed to add roughly 76 million gallons per day to the region’s supply.
“The work we’re doing is changing our water system for generations to come,” Zanoni said. “It will bring stability to homes, businesses, and industrial partners.”
City officials say those projects, along with expanded modeling and planning efforts, are intended to help Corpus Christi navigate the current drought while building a more diversified water system for the future.