Zanoni sent a memo Friday proposing a no-cost path forward for the Inner Harbor desalination project as Mayor Guajardo told 3NEWS she directed the action.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Corpus Christi City Manager Peter Zanoni has laid out a new plan to revive the Inner Harbor Desalination Project — one that he says will move forward at no cost to the city through the proposal phase.

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In a memo sent to the mayor and city council on Thursday, Zanoni said he has re-engaged Corpus Christi Desal Partners (CCDP), the second-place bidder from the city’s earlier procurement process, to develop a fresh proposal for the facility. The move comes after the council voted in September to cancel the previous contract with Kiewit Infrastructure, citing costs that had ballooned to more than $1 billion.

“As City Manager, it is my responsibility to ensure we continue delivering essential services and infrastructure that enable Corpus Christi and the region to grow and thrive,” Zanoni wrote. “Over the past several weeks, it has become increasingly clear that while groundwater will continue to serve as an immediate water supply during the current and future droughts, we must manage these resources carefully.”


A new partnership path

Zanoni said CCDP — a team made up of Acciona, MasTec, Reytec and Ardurra — has formally agreed to prepare a new proposal with price certainty for the design and construction of the Inner Harbor plant. He described CCDP as a mix of local, national and international companies with experience in infrastructure and engineering. The city would provide the group with existing design data from Kiewit so the project could be updated and refined without restarting the process from scratch.

The memo notes that the plan “will be at no cost to the City,” allowing staff and council to evaluate the proposal over the next several months before deciding whether to move ahead with a design-build contract.


Mayor’s announcement reignites debate

During her State of the City address on Thursday, Guajardo said the city could still pursue desalination by turning to the next eligible bidder now that Kiewit Infrastructure is no longer under contract.

“Now that we do not have Kiewit to work with, we do have another option to go to the next bidder, and so that’s what will be discussed,” Guajardo told 3NEWS.

Guajardo told 3NEWS on Friday that she directed City Manager Peter Zanoni to move forward with reviving the Inner Harbor Desalination Project, confirming that the issue will appear on the Nov. 18 City Council agenda.

“As Mayor, I have issued a call to action and placed the Inner Harbor Desalination project on the City Council agenda for November 18,” Guajardo said in a statement to 3NEWS. “The City Manager is simply following my directive, as we must all work cooperatively to serve the people of Corpus Christi, because they want and deserve water solutions today.”

Guajardo added that the governor and state delegation support seeing the Inner Harbor desalination project move forward.


Proposed five-step timeline

Zanoni’s memo outlines the following timeline for council consideration:

Nov. 18, 2025: Council considers approval to proceed with CCDP.

Nov. 2025: City provides CCDP with Kiewit’s design and cost data.

Dec. 2025 – Feb. 2026: CCDP prepares new design and construction proposal.

Jan. – Feb. 2026: Council reviews and directs staff to prepare a design-build contract.

Mar. – Apr. 2026: Council considers approval of the design-build contract with CCDP.

If the plan advances, Zanoni said the city will then open a competitive process for a 30-year operations and maintenance agreement, ensuring the plant is managed by an experienced desalination operator. That structure, he said, would help shift certain project costs “from debt to a long-term, manageable position within the city’s water rate.”


Next steps

Zanoni plans to present the item for council consideration at the Nov. 18 meeting, emphasizing that a stable mid-term water supply remains essential for Corpus Christi’s growth.

“I want to thank Corpus Christi Desal Partners for their confident, quick response,” he wrote. “Having a stable, secure mid-term water supply is essential for our residents, for our business community, and for our future.”