CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — On Tuesday, the City of Corpus Christi and the Port of Corpus Christi will be presenting the progress of their collaboration in advancing seawater desalination before city council.
There are three questions that still need an answer, the first one being, how much will it cost to build?
Port Board Chairman Charlie Zahn told 3NEWS, it's going to take a study to find out the costs of the project.
"Number two, what is the cost to operate," Zahn said. "And more importantly, what is the cost to the consumer once you get desalinated seawater?"
Next will be solidifying a location for the plant. There are five potential locations, but Harbor Island is still at the top of the list for the Port.
"We think it's probably the most viable of the five locations because of it's close proximity to deep water and it's close proximity to the Gulf of Mexico," Zahn explained.
Zahn said it is important to have an uninterruptible source of water.
"We believe that desalinization will help them meet their long-term commitment to their existing customers, their existing residents, and allow us to continue to bring new industry into the Coastal Bend," he said.
The Texas Commission of Environmental Quality is the agency that makes the decision on approving the desalination plant.
"On certain types of projects, that the TCEQ would be the ultimate party to make the decisions on permitting," Zahn said.
Harbor Island may be the Port’s top choice to build a desal plant, but the city has long preferred an Inner Harbor site at Hillcrest. That, and who should build and own the plant, are at the heart of the city and Port’s disagreements.
Zahn explained that the Port is ready to assist the city.
"I believe by working together, rather than working against each other, then we can make huge strides towards helping existing businesses prosper."
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