CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas \u2014 Frustration hung heavy in the council chambers Tuesday night as city leaders once again took up the long-debated Inner Harbor desalination project.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a shame we are back here again\u2026 and I\u2019ll say it again\u2026 a shame,\u201d District 2 Councilwoman, Sylvia Campos said, capturing the sentiment shared by many in the room.<\/p>\n
Just weeks after terminating a contract with the project\u2019s original development team, the City Council voted to approve a new memorandum of understanding with Corpus Christi Desal Partners. The agreement does not authorize construction but allows the city to obtain a new cost estimate\u2014essentially resetting the process.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis would be first base, then we have second base, third base\u2026 then we slide on into home,\u201d Mayor Paulette Guajardo said.<\/p>\n
The council also voted to begin immediate environmental studies to determine potential effects on the bay. <\/p>\n
\u201cPeople need to know if it is safe, and they need to know now.” said District 3 Councilman Eric Cantu.<\/p>\n
Cost concerns\u2014long at the core of the desal debate\u2014resurfaced quickly. At-large Councilwoman Carolyn Vaughn said she supported seeking a new price because the step \u201cis costing the city nothing\u201d and does not raise residents\u2019 bills.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all have to be open minded\u2026 who doesn\u2019t want to hear that?\u201d Vaughn said, adding that her opposition to the earlier plan remained unchanged. \u201cI am not a flip flopper\u2026 I have been consistent from the get go. One-point-two billion was too much to put on our ratepayers.\u201d<\/p>\n
For District 3 Councilman Eric Cantu, those financial pressures are already evident among his constituents. \u201cIt\u2019s either my water bill or my meds\u2026it\u2019s sad, but that\u2019s how people are living today,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Public comment echoed those anxieties and produced some of the night\u2019s sharpest remarks.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou cannot serve God and mammon, and you cannot serve the people and special interest,\u201d one speaker told the council.<\/p>\n
Another added: \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of elders out there choosing between their meds or electricity\u2026 now it\u2019s their water?\u201d<\/p>\n
The council\u2019s actions keep the desalination project alive but far from final approval, with cost and community impact likely to dominate the next phase of debate.<\/p>\n
The next vote, expected in January or February 2026, will direct staff to develop a design-build contract. Council members would then consider approving that contract with CCDP in March or April.<\/p>\n
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