Is Inner Harbor desal ostensibly dead \u2014 or is it merely a plan in limbo?<\/p>\n
The Corpus Christi City Council revived the debate after a water project update Oct. 14.<\/p>\n
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This map shows the approximate locations of the proposed Inner Harbor seawater desalination plant’s intake and discharge points.<\/p>\n
The contentious discussion kicked off after City Councilman Everett Roy noted the absence of the proposed plant in the presentation.<\/p>\n
It \u2014 along with alternative projects, such as drilling groundwater wells \u2014 had appeared in nearly each of the weekly updates.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had people ask me, what did we officially do as a council, in terms of where we\u2019re at with the Inner Harbor,\u201d Roy said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we\u2019re going to proceed with looking at (another contractor) or looking at whatever the alternative is, then that\u2019s one thing,\u201d he added. \u201cIf we\u2019re not proceeding, I think that the people deserve to know that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although the council voted against continuing the contract with Kiewit Infrastructure South Co. for design of the plant, there has not been a formal vote nixing the project altogether.<\/p>\n
Some council members contended that the vote to end the contract with Kiewit was effectively a vote to terminate the project as well.<\/p>\n
In a workshop earlier this month, staff presented the council with a series of options that could be pursued for the project, including the possibility of taking up talks with the second-highest ranking design-builder, Acciona\/Mastec.<\/p>\n
Because the most recent discussion had been in a workshop format instead of a council meeting, there was no vote.<\/p>\n
The Inner Harbor project remains on the table, said Mayor Paulette Guajardo, describing the omission of the plant from the water supply update presentation as \u201cdisingenuous.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some council members have expressed varying degrees of interest in pursuing the project under different avenues.<\/p>\n
The council as a whole has not specifically eliminated the plant as an option to boost water supply, Guajardo said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to decide,\u201d she said. \u201cThat decision has not been made.\u201d<\/p>\n
The vote to not supplement funding for Kiewit to continue design past the 30% completion mark was 6-3.<\/p>\n
City Council members Sylvia Campos, Carolyn Vaughn, Eric Cantu, Gil Hernandez, Kaylynn Paxson and Roy supported withholding additional funding, with Guajardo and City Councilmen Mark Scott and Roland Barrera voting in dissent.<\/p>\n
Paxson on Oct. 14 described frustration in continuing \u201cto come back to something that we have moved past.\u201d<\/p>\n
At one point, she directly addressed Guajardo, stating that there was a need \u201cto be cognizant of how we\u2019re going to lead the people forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
That means making \u201csure that we are leading them with confidence and not taking them backwards into things that are going to bring back up confusion, uncertainty,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
In two letters, the Texas Water Development Board has said low-interest financing that had been earmarked for the Inner Harbor desalination plant could not be transferred to another water supply project.<\/p>\n
However, city officials submitted another letter to the state agency on Oct. 13 asking if the loans could be repurposed to a different water supply project, said City Manager Peter Zanoni.<\/p>\n
One of the projects in the council\u2019s consideration is known as the Evangeline groundwater project, which proposes to pump groundwater from a well field near Sinton.<\/p>\n
Should the project be executed as planned, it would augment Corpus Christi\u2019s water supply by as much as 24 million gallons of water per day.<\/p>\n
Staff doesn\u2019t expect a response from TWDB for as long as two months, Zanoni said, advising that it would be better to potentially return to discussion on the Inner Harbor project after receipt of the state\u2019s response.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a need for the state agency to provide an \u201canswer to that question,\u201d Guajardo said.<\/p>\n
But, she added, \u201cit\u2019s probably going to come back as what it has multiple times.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cantu suggested a shorter process to decide the fate of the Inner Harbor project.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we should bring it back to the council next week and get it over and done with, and it\u2019s voted up or down,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Officials in the past had estimated the plant would come online in 2028.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis project is not going to save our a—–, it\u2019s not going to save us,\u201d Cantu said. \u201cWe need to find water today, tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n