More brackish desal for Corpus Christi? New plan is in the works
A planned brackish water desalination plant, developed outside the Corpus Christi city limits, remains in consideration as a potential water source — although details on costs are still unclear. Private company Seven Seas’ proposed brackish desalination plant could sell as much as 10 million gallons of treated water per day, said Nick Winkelmann, chief operating officer of Corpus Christi Water, addressing the City Council on Nov. 10. The company would develop the plant on a 5,000-acre parcel on Chapman Ranch, he said, with costs broken down between Seven Seas and the city of Corpus Christi. Water: How Corpus Christi City Council incumbents have voted on Inner Harbor On the part of the private company, key financial investments would include the facility’s construction and electrical infrastructure, and on the part of the city, big-ticket items to include building a new pump station near the plant site, as well as developing a 6-mile pipeline to an existing pump station, the presentation showed. It’s estimated that the city’s capital investment into the needed infrastructure would come in at roughly $69 million, Winkelmann said. He cautioned the council, however, that there remain notable unknowns — among the largest, power costs associated with the project.
