A major water switch in Robstown as officials say treated Corpus Christi water could improve quality and boost flexibility.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Robstown water customers are now getting a new supply as a local district begins sending treated water from Corpus Christi into its system.

At the Nueces County WCID #3’s booster station, pump number one is now running, marking a shift in operations. The station is now acting as a distribution center, pushing treated Corpus Christi water into a system that has faced past concerns over arsenic and total dissolved solids, or TDS.

“The arsenic levels have come down within the last couple of months, so arsenic has not been an issue. It was the TDS. It’s a great feeling, you know that we’re going to start giving the residents here in Robstown some better treated Water,” said Ramiro Alejandro Jr., president of Nueces County Water Control and Improvement District No. 3.

The district was able to move forward after receiving a variance from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. That approval allows the system to begin taking treated water from Corpus Christi sooner than originally planned.

“We made an agreement with the City of Corpus Christi, where we would lease out 5,000,000 gallons of water rights to the city of Corpus for the next three years, and in exchange, we would get 3,000,000 gallons of treated water from the city of Corpus,” said Marcos Alaniz, district manager for Nueces County WCID 3.

The upgraded booster station also gives the district flexibility depending on future water conditions. Officials say they can continue using treated Corpus Christi water or switch back to river water if supply improves.

“If we miraculously get a hurricane this year to fill up those lakes and the river comes back to normal, then we basically shut off the system from Corpus, and we start running back to our Water rights,” Alaniz said.

Officials say the transition is underway, but customers may not notice an immediate difference. It could take several weeks for the treated water to fully circulate and blend throughout the system.