Six months after scrapping their own seawater desalination plant project, Corpus Christi City Council voted Tuesday to consider an agreement with a private company to purchase water from its desalination plant to help stave off an impending water emergency.<\/p>\n
The council voted 7-1 to begin negotiations to acquire water from a desalination plant that\u2019s under construction and owned by Corpus Christi Polymers, a plastic manufacturer. The plant will filter salt and other minerals out from seawater or salty groundwater to make it drinkable.<\/p>\n
Desalination company Aquatech has an agreement with Corpus Christi Polymers to sell drinking water from the plant to Corpus Christi, according to a presentation from the city. Aquatech has agreed to complete building the plant, expand it and connect it to the city\u2019s distribution system.<\/p>\n
The city is in the grips of a historic drought and two of its main reservoirs have fallen to 8.4% capacity, sparking fears that the city within months may have to declare a water emergency \u2014 signaling that the city has just 180 days\u2019 supply of water left. City manager Peter Zanoni has called desalination a drought-resistant, long-term solution to providing water to the 500,000 people across seven counties who depend on the water system.<\/p>\n
Although the council backed the effort, most did so after expressing skepticism.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really, really reluctant,\u201d said council member Roland Barrera, who voted against the measure. \u201c\u2026 Once they come up with a good deal, then I\u2019ll support it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Corpus Christi council members spent years discussing building a city-owned desalination plant capable of producing 30 million gallons of drinking water per day by 2028.<\/p>\n
But costs nearly doubled over the years, to more than $1.2 billion, and opponents voiced concerns about a desalination plant\u2019s potential impact on the environment \u2014 arguing that its super salty discharge into Corpus Christi Bay could create \u201cdead zones\u201d in the sensitive, mostly enclosed coastal ecosystem.<\/p>\n
After years of efforts and tens of millions of dollars invested, the council decided last September to\u00a0scrap the project<\/a>.<\/p>\n Then the council tried to make an offer to purchase the Corpus Christi Polymers desalination plant but that offer was rejected in October. Now, the council is looking at purchasing water from the plant, which has already secured state permits, according to the city.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t see any reason not to move forward with at least negotiating,\u201d said council member Kaylyn Paxson. \u201cAnd of course, I wish the best speed and luck to the project, because that\u2019s what we\u2019re looking for \u2014 that\u2019s what everyone is looking to this for, finding water.\u201d<\/p>\n