Nueces River Authority selects IDE Technologies for Harbor Island desalination project

The Nueces River Authority has selected IDE Technologies to design and build a proposed Harbor Island desalination plant.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Nueces River Authority has unanimously voted to begin negotiations with IDE Technologies to design and build a desalination plant at Harbor Island, with the company saying it intends to have water flowing by 2029.

NRA Executive Director John Byrum selected IDE Technologies as his top choice, and the board voted unanimously to move forward with the Israeli-based water treatment firm.

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According to the company’s website, IDE Technologies describes itself as a world leader in water treatment solutions, specializing in the development, engineering, construction and operation of desalination and industrial water treatment plants.

Mark Ellison of IDE Technologies said the company is prepared to move immediately.

“We deeply admire the vision that the board has come up with to go forward, and we are ready to get started today to bring this to this critical area at a critical time,” Ellison said. “We are ready to go to work.”

The proposed Harbor Island facility could deliver up to 100 million gallons of water daily by late 2029, according to project leaders.

As 3NEWS has previously reported, the desalination plant was originally permitted to the Port of Corpus Christi but could eventually be leased to the Nueces River Authority.

NRA Executive Director John Byrum said IDE stood out from the field.

“IDE ranked number one in the evaluation by the team,” Byrum said. “They have over 400 projects worldwide, produce over 1.5 billion gallons a day of drinking water and have done so for 60 years. We are very pleased.”

The project carries an estimated price tag of more than $5 billion.

The Harbor Island desalination project is designed to eventually produce up to 450 million gallons of freshwater per day. While the project recently faced setbacks after being denied a loan, the Nueces River Authority continues pursuing funding opportunities to keep the project moving forward.