CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Corpus Christi City Council members met to disuss, "alternate project delivery options" for the Inner Harbor Desalination project that was halted last month. With a water curtailment deadline looming in about 13 months, councilors also were given updates on multiple alternatives to secure the city's water future.
"A large portion of the council has no interest in moving forward with the inner harbor desal facility," said Roland Barrera, City Council At-Large member.
Barrera adds halting this project, which was years in the making, will have consequences.
The first part of the workshop focused on exploring various options to revive the Inner Harbor project, including going with the #2 ranked design build team, assigning the contract to a not-for-profit government entity, starting from scratch with new a designer and contractor, or establishing a public-private partnership.
"Today is the opportunity. We must do something," Guajardo said.
However, cost concerns continue to dominate the discussion. Councilwoman Carolyn Vaughn questioned the financial projections being presented to the council.
"You keep saying $8 for defeasance.. the rate is going to go up. Yeah, it probably will, but if you up to 1.2 billion or more it's going to go up too and no one is talking about that," Vaughn said.
Some council members argued that the city should shift its focus to more immediate solutions given approaching curtailment.
"We need to focus on the items that will help us avoid curtailment. None of the items associated with desal and the Inner Harbor will help us avoid curtailment," said Gil Hernandez, City Council District 4 representative.
The council also revisited the possibility of redirecting SWIFT funds, despite receiving two separate letters indicating this wasn't possible. Hernandez questioned whether the city had formally requested this redirection from the Texas Water Development Board.
"So we actually have not had the opportunity to ask for that formally in a formal way to the Texas water development board to get absolute certainty?" Hernandez asked.
City Manager Peter Zanoni confirmed they could make a formal request if directed by the council.
"That's right, if you want us to do that we can, councilman," Zanoni said.
Hernandez advocated for utilizing the borrowed funds where they could provide immediate benefits.
"It would be beneficial for us, since we already borrowed the money to be able to utilize it in a place where it can deliver the most good right away," Hernandez said.
The council received updates on other water supply projects, including Nueces River groundwater wells and wastewater recycling initiatives. Hernandez noted that not all alternative water sources need to be potable.
"And it doesn't have to be all drinking water, it can be industrial water that allows us to keep more of the drinking water for us," Hernandez said.
At next week's meeting, the city council is expected to consider spending between $1.6 million and nearly $3 million to reserve water at a future desalination plant on Harbor Island. That facility isn't expected to be available until 2029.
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