Corpus Christi City Council approved a first step toward adding desalinated drinking water as drought tightens conditions across the region, voting 6-2 to begin preliminary talks with AXE H2O, a private company that says it can build and operate a desalination facility for the Coastal Bend. The vote came seven months after council ended its own seawater desalination plant effort and with leaders warning that a water crisis is expected to surface within months.
Council members also advanced a separate effort at the same meeting, voting to hear a proposal from Seven Seas Water Group for a brackish-water groundwater project capable of producing up to 20 million gallons of drinking water per day. City officials have described the drought as unforgiving, saying two of the city’s main reservoirs have fallen to below 8% capacity and that the city could be forced into a Level 1 emergency by September.
Under AXE H2O’s proposal, the company would seek to construct a desalination plant that could produce about 150 million gallons of drinking water per day. The company, which is based in Houston, told council that it expects to take about two years to build the facility, and it said its approach would rely on natural gas rather than electricity. John Olson, the company’s chairman, told council members that the project would require no public funds, no debt, and no bond-rating issues.
Olson said AXE H2O’s proposal would avoid what he characterized as financial risk to taxpayers, telling council members, “It involves no public funds, no debt, no bond rating issues,” and adding, “No taxpayer risks, no operating expenses. This is absolutely a private venture.” He said the city could pay $6.50 per 1,000 gallons for the water produced—about 30% cheaper than a prior controversial city plan known as the Inner Harbor Project.
The council vote to start talks follows earlier desalination steps the city has already taken with a mix of private partners. In March, council approved the water department’s recommendation to consider buying water from another desalination plant, under construction by Corpus Christi Polymers. For that to happen, the city would have to agree to purchase between 50 million and 150 million gallons a day from that plant for at least 30 years, according to the discussion at the meeting.
Even as supporters urged movement in what they described as a precarious water situation, some council members raised concerns about moving too quickly. Sylvia Campos, one of the two council members who voted against beginning AXE H2O talks, said she wanted more time and more preparation before proceeding, saying, “I just would have liked to have heard more or had a little more time to prepare.” She also described the proposal as unrealistic, calling it “sort of like too good to be true.” Roland Barrera, the other dissenting voter, said the presentation came “prematurely” and warned that the looming emergency has pushed city leaders toward “just buying anything,” which he said was “a fire sale and it’s very irresponsible. It’s not good governance.”
Mayor Paulette Guajardo abstained from the vote and said she wished the company had discussed its plans with her directly before presenting to the council. City Manager Peter Zanoni said the initial proposal lacked detail, stating that “the proposal we received so far lacks detail, right? There’s no business data to make a recommendation to council.” Zanoni said the council’s decision involved whether to proceed with the company to develop a more comprehensive plan.
Council members who favored moving forward said timing and water needs required openness, even amid skepticism about details that were not yet fully available. Council Member Kaylynn Paxson said “it should not be dragged down into this political maneuvering — it’s water, we need water,” while Council Member Eric Cantu said he has “100% faith” the city would return to council with a more thorough plan. Cantu also said he expected desalination firms to seek out Corpus Christi because “water is the new gold, right?” He later warned that the cost could rise, saying he “bets on underdogs all the time” and adding, “I am not surprised that the city is being sought out by desalination companies,” before emphasizing that “the cost is your problem,” according to the meeting remarks as described in the reporting.
AXE H2O projected its desalination plant would cost about $1.3 billion to build, while opponents and supporters alike referenced the way cost helped sink the city’s earlier desalination plan. The city council had killed plans to build its own desalination plant after the proposed price nearly doubled to more than $1.2 billion, and leaders said the council is scheduled to revisit that effort during its June 2 meeting.
Environmental questions also shaped the discussion, with some residents and council members expressing concern about desalination’s discharge and its effects on coastal waters. The reporting described opponents’ concerns about super-salty discharge into Corpus Christi Bay and the potential formation of “dead zones” in the enclosed coastal ecosystem, while AXE H2O’s approach, as outlined during the meeting, proposed offshore discharge into the Gulf instead of the bay. Corpus Christi resident Robin Cox, who said she opposes the Inner Harbor Project, told council she would support the newly proposed desalination plant, saying, “I am for desal, just not in the Inner Harbor where it’s going to pollute the bay.”
The council’s next meeting is scheduled for May 12 at 11:30 a.m. In addition to the preliminary talks with AXE H2O, the council has also advanced the separate hearing of Seven Seas Water Group’s brackish-water groundwater proposal as it looks for additional sources to avert the expected shortage timeline.