Corpus Christi is moving forward with its desalination project. Here's what's next.

The most significant moves toward development of a proposed seawater desalination plant are officially underway.

In a 6-3 vote Tuesday, the City Council opted to continue on a path to construction of a 30-million-gallons-per-day (MGD) desalination plant on what has been dubbed the Inner Harbor site.

The prevailing final vote authorizes city staff to accept a $211 million low-interest loan from the Texas Water Development Board, as well as apply for a new $535 million low-interest loan from the same state program.

It also gives the go-ahead to spend about $3.1 million for a power substation to supply the plant with electricity, and apply for a federal grant of as much as $180 million that may go toward development costs.

Mayor Paulette Guajardo and City Councilmen Mike Pusley, Dan Suckley, Everett Roy, Michael Hunter and Roland Barrera voted in favor; while councilmembers Sylvia Campos and Jim Klein voted in dissent. City Councilman Gil Hernandez abstained.

In a news release, Guajardo described the outcome as the council moving “forward with an uninterruptible, drought-proof source of water for our residents and the region.”

“Given our area’s critical water scarcity, we must continue to prioritize establishing water resilience,” she stated. “Today’s vote ensures a long-term water solution for our families and our economic future.”

Campos, prior to the vote, requested the council table the items, describing the actions as “putting the cart before the wheel.”

She noted that among unresolved issues that the project does not currently have either a state discharge permit or a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit. Cost questions remain, Campos added.

“All of this we’re doing and we don’t even have all these things lined up that we should have… and here we’re moving forward,” Campos said.

The discussion followed one from a preliminary vote last week, on Tuesday, drawing about 50 people to address the council. They were nearly split in half on opposition and support.

Opposition has largely revolved around concerns that the plant would harm the bay’s ecology and the residents of the nearby Hillcrest neighborhood, as well as the costs involved.

The city selecting a site that has traditionally served as a buffer between industrial operations and Hillcrest – a historically Black neighborhood – represents environmental racism, some commenters have alleged.

The Rev. Henry Williams, who is among the leaders of the Hillcrest Residents Association, described the ship channel on Tuesday as an unviable source to meet the city's water needs.

“There is a way to find a viable solution and we must remember that,” he said. “But it is not the Inner Harbor desalination project. It will destroy the Hillcrest neighborhood and it will also be destructive to our marine life and our bay.”

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development last year opened an investigation into whether the city’s plans for a seawater desalination plant at its chosen location complies with the Civil Rights Act of 1968.

The conclusion of the case is pending.

City officials have said the location was selected, in part, "because of its immediate proximity to the residents and larger community of Corpus Christi,” and that the facility would be designed with "state of the art technology with aesthetically-pleasing buildings that will enhance the neighborhood.”

Potential environmental impacts on the bay have also been in substantial dispute, with opponents and supporters bolstering their arguments with different studies. Supporters have said potential impacts have been adequately studied and concerns addressed, while opponents have questioned the reports the city is relying upon and cited separate studies.

Also in contention is the question of who ultimately benefits from a desalination plant – industrial companies that use a large volume of water as part of their processes, or the community as a whole.

Project supporters frequently cited desalination as key to securing a water supply that would not be susceptible to drought, subsequently safeguarding the region’s economy.

David Engel, one of the city’s representatives on the Port of Corpus Christi Commission, described desalination as an “uninterruptable source that would not only take care of the current citizens that are here but the future growth and economic development.”

“Why do we need economic development?” he said. “Well, they create jobs, people that have the funds to be able to go out and buy cars or refrigerators or furniture create tax dollars – tax dollars that you can use to pay for police and schools and streets and the things that are very important to the citizens of Corpus Christi.”

The decisions made by the council come on the heels of new estimates for development of the plant, proposed for construction off the ship channel and adjacent to the Hillcrest neighborhood.

Project costs rose

The request to apply for a new $535 million low-interest loan is driven by the more than doubling figure estimated for development.

Originally estimated in 2019 at about $220 million, it is now thought construction will run about $541.1 million. City officials have said the rising costs reflect a plant with higher capacity than originally pitched, as well as inflation.

Additional work – such as constructing infrastructure that would integrate the water into the city’s distribution system – amounts to an estimated $216 million.

The cost of the project totals about $757.5 million.

Annual maintenance and operation costs of the proposed plant are estimated at $44 million, Corpus Christi Water COO Drew Molly told the council Tuesday.

How the project, should it reach fruition, impact residential water rates isn’t fully clear at this point.

Current monthly charges for average residential households – those using 6,000 gallons per month – are about $39.

An existing rate model shows incremental increases over the next five years – the funding intended for planned and ongoing capital improvement costs – standing at about $55 per month by 2029.

In a presentation, early estimates of desalination-related rate impacts to average residential households are shown as fluctuating from year-to-year, and whether the city would be awarded a federal grant for the project.

The slide shows desalination-specific costs with a wide range  – as low as three cents per month in 2027 to as high as $11 in 2029.

Estimates, however, will “probably change because we are getting ready to go into a rate season,” Molly said.

City officials plan to work with a consultant in evaluating potential rate models.

Council reviews and approves water rates annually

“There is going to be a rate impact and there may be some questions that we will have to talk about as we get into the budget planning season in terms of what are the priority projects, what projects can we afford ,” Molly said. “And those will be questions that this council here will have to decide.”

It is anticipated a pilot study will be launched this year – and once the pilot goes online, testing for the water produced, according to a news release issued by the city of Corpus Christi.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality approved ls a water rights permit in 2022.

A draft discharge permit – which would be required to operate a desalination plant – is on the table.

A public hearing on the draft permit is anticipated to be scheduled around March, according to city officials.

More: 'Our bay is not for sale': Environmental coalition responds to draft desalination permit

More: A neighborhood's message to the city of Corpus Christi: 'Hillcrest will not yield.'

More: Here's how building a desalination plant may impact water rates in Corpus Christi

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Corpus Christi moving forward with controversial desalination plant