Six months after canceling its own desalination plant project, the Corpus Christi City Council voted Tuesday to consider a deal with a private company to purchase water from its desalination plant to help avert a looming water emergency.
The commission voted 7-1 to begin negotiations to get water from a desalination plant under construction owned by plastics maker Corpus Christi Polymers. The plant will filter salt and other minerals from seawater or saline groundwater, making it drinkable.
Desalination company Aquatech has an agreement with Corpus Christi Polymers to sell drinking water produced at the plant to the city of Corpus Christi, according to a presentation from the city. Aquatech has agreed to complete construction of the plant, expand it and connect it to the city’s electrical distribution system.
The city is suffering from a historic drought and the capacity of its two main reservoirs has dropped to 8.4%, raising concerns that the city could declare a water emergency within months, suggesting the city only has enough water for 180 days. City Manager Peter Zanoni calls desalination a long-term solution to drought that could provide water to the 500,000 people in seven counties who rely on the water system.
While the committee supported the effort, most did so only after expressing skepticism.
“I was really, really reluctant,” said City Councilman Roland Barrera, who voted against the measure. “… Once they come up with a good deal, I’ll support it.”
Corpus Christi City Council members have spent years discussing building a city-owned desalination plant capable of producing 30 million gallons of drinking water per day by 2028.
But costs have nearly doubled over the years to more than $1.2 billion, and opponents have raised concerns about the desalination plant’s potential environmental impact — arguing that the excess salt it discharges into Corpus Christi Bay could create a “dead zone” in the sensitive, largely enclosed coastal ecosystem.
After years of work and tens of millions of dollars of investment, the committee decided last September Abandoned projects.
The commission then attempted to make an offer to purchase the Corpus Christi Polymer desalination plant, but the offer was rejected in October. Now, the council is considering purchasing water from the plant, which already has a state permit, according to the city.
“I don’t see any reason not to at least move forward with negotiations,” said Assembly Member Kaylin Paxson. “Of course, I wish this project well because that’s what we’re looking for — that’s what everyone is looking for in the water.”
As of October, the plant was about 90% complete, According to the Corpus Christi Caller-Timeswill be operational one year after the contract is signed and will produce approximately 9 million gallons of water per day.
“I just think again that we should err on the side of caution… I don’t want to put us in a hopeless situation again,” said Councilmember Everett Roy, who voted in favor of the measure.
Zanoni said he looks forward to meeting with Aquatech to discuss next steps.
“We are cautiously optimistic,” he said. “Aquatech thinks they can do it, then we’re willing to let them present the case to us and we’ll analyze it and if we think they have a good case, we’ll present something to the city council.”
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This story was originally published on texas tribune and distributed in partnership with The Associated Press.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. all rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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