One City Council member says Harbor Island desal project was “embellished” from the start.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — New questions are emerging about the proposed Harbor Island desalination project following allegations against the head of the Nueces River Authority, with state leaders now calling for an investigation.
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Corpus Christi City Manager Peter Zanoni addressed the issue during his weekly water update meeting, where much of the discussion centered on claims involving Nueces River Authority Executive Director John Byrum.
The agency’s chief operating officer alleges Byrum misled the city about how many communities had committed to buying water from the proposed Harbor Island plant.
Zanoni pushed back on the idea that the numbers were intentionally misrepresented, describing the situation as fluid.
“There was a moving target. Where one day there could’ve been a reservation of a higher number only to find out that somebody had backed out or conversely it could’ve been a lower number and between him talking with us and talking with another City or Community that number could’ve gone up. So I think the work that he was doing was flexible in terms of am I in or not in terms of reservations.”
The controversy has also drawn attention from state leaders. Governor Greg Abbott has called for an investigation into the allegations.
At the local level, Councilman Roland Barrera said the concerns reinforce doubts he has had about the project from the beginning.
“Did you ever feel like you were duped or lied to do you want your money back? What’s your feeling?”
“Well one thing to remember is I didn’t support the reservation fee. I’ve always felt that that project was embellished. There was a lot of embellishment in regards to the opportunity to be able to pipeline the water you know as far as Bexar County. I’ve never had any confidence in the project whatsoever.”
The City of Corpus Christi has already spent $2.7 million to reserve up to 50 million gallons of water per day from the Harbor Island desalination project.
Despite the allegations, Zanoni says the city is not backing away from its agreement at this time.
“I think from a legal standpoint we are good. We are gonna wait for the state and the NRA does their investigation to see if there is any material evidence that comes of that that might impact that contract that City Council approved.”
Byrum told 3News he believes the issue will be resolved quickly and says the Harbor Island desalination project is still moving forward.