Construction on the Evangeline Groundwater Project is continuing as Corpus Christi awaits a key decision from the City of Sinton on how much water can be pumped from the project’s aquifer.
City Manager Peter Zanoni said the city expects an opinion from Sinton on Tuesday regarding pumping levels under normal conditions, with additional water available only if western reservoirs reach a certain level — a threshold that has been discussed at 30%.
“We’ve talked about 30%,” Zanoni said. “When there’s a combined level of 30%, then you can pump the additional waters.”
According to Zanoni, Sinton has expressed concern over Corpus Christi having access to pump 24 million gallons a day whenever it chooses. Sinton is instead pushing for a lower base amount of water to be pumped regularly, with an additional amount available only when western reservoirs drop to a lower level.
Zanoni said all 30 miles of transmission pipeline for the project have been manufactured and are on site, with about 10 miles already installed in the ground. The project is fully designed.
Zanoni said the groundwater from the project tests at about 800 TDS for salt content and requires no advanced treatment. He said the project has been considered for 40 years, and the Mary Rhodes Pipeline runs along the fence line of the 24,000-acre ranch tied to the project, eliminating additional transport costs to move the water a short distance across the county line into San Patricio County.
Zanoni said 40 million gallons of water currently flow into San Patricio County each day, none of it originating from the county itself, and comes instead from five other counties.
This comes after Corpus Christi announced it will not protest new production and drilling permits requested by Somerset Land Company through the San Patricio Groundwater Conservation District. City leaders have said the decision is intended to support ongoing negotiations with Sinton, the Saint Paul Water Supply Corporation and other stakeholders as they work toward an agreement on the project.
The city has also said its hydrogeologic analysis indicates the proposed well field would not negatively affect nearby wells, and it plans to work more closely with the San Patricio Groundwater Conservation District by sharing information and monitoring groundwater conditions as talks continue.
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