CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Texas State Aquarium was packed with folks who flew into town to listen to the city of Corpus Christi's plans for its $700-million desalination plant.
"Our hope is to bring firms from all levels and experiences together so the city can get adequate competition on this project,” said city chief procurement officer Josh Chronley.
Civil engineer Ruben Munoz works at Boston based CDM Smith engineering and construction. He has worked on desal projects from Chile to Jordan.
One of the biggest worries about building a plant is the salt being put back into the bay during the desalination process and harm that could come to the bay and its ecology.
"The brine that is coming to the sea -- it’s the same salt that you have in the ocean," he said. "And then with a diffuser, you just dilute it and you can comply with the regulation.
Houston-based desalination expert Tom Pankratz puts out a weekly water desalination report for Global Water Intelligence. He agrees that, as long as Corpus Christi follows industry standards, the city's plant won’t be causing environmental problems.
"I have been in the industry for 40 years, and while they do have an impact, it’s generally proven to be minimal impact,” he said.
About 200 people who showed up for this event, and Pankratz said it’s because this project is big news in the desal world.
"This is usually one of the first things they ask about as far as when it comes to desal in the US, is what’s happening in Corpus," he said. "So, I’m here to try and keep people around the world up-to-date on what’s going on.”
Corpus Christi City Manager Peter Zanoni said he believes there’s a strong possibility that one or more of the contractors who showed up here will join forces to bid on the project.
He expects for the design/build firm will be selected seven months from now.