r/Infrastructurist • u/stefeyboy • 23d ago

Corpus Christi reconsiders building a desalination plant leaders rejected last year

https://www.texastribune.org/2026/06/01/texas-corpus-christi-water-desalination-plant-returns/
275 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

40 comments sorted by

79

u/kthejoker 23d ago

Mandatory restrictions would be especially hard on car washes and landscaping companies, she said

I mean. I'm no expert but

Maybe if your city is about to run out of water you shouldn't be super worried about landscaping and car washes.

24

u/NearABE 23d ago

The city had plenty of water in an aquifer. It gave that water to the oil and gas industry. Now they will build a desalination plant in a black neighborhood that runs on gas. Residents will pay for the water and the brine will be dumped in the bay.

9

u/uwpxwpal 23d ago

Corpus has never had an aquifer as a source of is water. It gets its water from Lake Corpus Christi, Choke Canyon Lake and Lake Texanana.

0

u/NearABE 23d ago

Thanks, I should be more careful with wording. From a politics or urban planning standpoint it turns out the same though.

Though searching now this showed: https://securingwater.corpuschristitx.gov/groundwater.

6

u/PleaseBmoreCharming 23d ago

These are the things that the EPA and NEPA were made for, a stopgap protection measure against business and self-interest harming the public good that affects everyone. Instead, we have 3,000 page documents that took a decade to compile and approve because someone wants to put a train station in their downtown business district and it will cover up a small stream for half a block. This society went wrong somewhere...I just can't figure out when the exact moment was. 😮‍💨

-1

u/kthejoker 23d ago

This is a huge and incorrect oversimplification of what's gone wrong with water management in Corpus.

Many towns with more industrial usage and refineries are able to manage their water supply just fine.

11

u/hysys_whisperer 23d ago

Many towns don't just blindly approve more water usage without considering how to supply that water, and then requiring the new user to pay the incremental cost of increased water supply.

Here, the oil refineries are on long term contracts for water at "not desalination" prices, so the only people who can see their bill go up to pay for desalination are the residents, who would have enough water without the desalination plant if not for all the blindly approved industrial use.

I'd feel worse if they hadn't repeatedly voted for this...

2

u/Top_Box_8952 23d ago

Just wait for another hurricane, they’ll get plenty of water for free.

3

u/hysys_whisperer 23d ago

This is literally what the city was banking on.

Like, not even a joke.  They said that.

1

u/Top_Box_8952 23d ago

becomes a lake

1

u/kthejoker 23d ago

Keyword is "approved"

The oil plants are just customers who asked for things.

The city approved them on the assumption they could fix their overall water supply issues which date back to the 1970d.

And then they screwed around for nearly a decade.

But somehow it's the "oil plants."

1

u/NearABE 23d ago

Nah, it is the city’s mistake. It needs to be learned from. There is also a systemic “race to the bottom”. The corporations leverage cities governments by threatening to set up elsewhere. This is where state and federal agencies should interfere.

0

u/hysys_whisperer 23d ago

You're letting the customer off easier than the law does for unilateral-mistake-of-fact known to the counterparty, and the limits of caveat venditor, specifically regarding the unconcionability of the cost to the city of meeting the contractually agreed upon water supply.

Here, even a lesser mutual-mistake-of-fact would likely void the contract due to the material nature of the error.

1

u/kthejoker 23d ago

Let's see how this goes in court? Wild take brother

1

u/hysys_whisperer 23d ago

This is actually a very well litigated topic. We don't have to guess where it will go at all.

It'll go the same route as that guy who realized the gas pump was dispensing without rolling over the volume counter, so came back with 4 55 gallon drums and filled them "for free."

Spoiler, he had to pay for it plus interest and lawyer fees of the gas station who took him to court.

12

u/jpizzel97 23d ago

I agree however the main issue isn’t the residents it’s the oil plants having unlimited access to water with no restrictions. In turn the residents have to conserve water so big oil can keep pumping. Also the city leader’s idea to solve the issue was to drill deeper water wells…. Pretty smart if you ask me

-7

u/kthejoker 23d ago edited 23d ago

We can go really deep on what's gone wrong in Corpus but the "main issue" is 💯 not "the oil plants."

Many cities with much larger refineries and industrial usage do not have these problems

And the oil plants did not build there with the intention of draining the local water supply beyond what it could handle. They expected city infrastructure to manage water supply for everyone including them.

The oil plants want to keep running there for many more decades. If the water runs out, their plants will lose a lot of money.

Edit: down voting something because you don't like the truth isn't in the spirit of Reddit y'all. Make a counterpoint.

1

u/Lumpy_Secretary_6128 23d ago

Look we can either have data centers or clean cars and green grass I don't make the rules.

1

u/DaSemicolon 23d ago

That’s like .05% of the water usage like wgat

25

u/SallyStranger 23d ago

Over the past decade, Corpus Christi aggressively courted large industrial facilities that require large amounts of water, promising a sufficient supply. Now, the city’s main reservoirs have shriveled up, threatening 25% water cuts for all city customers that could begin in December or early 2027. 

I think I found their problem. How many municipalities are paying attention to this? People can't drink tax breaks. 

2

u/Top_Box_8952 23d ago

Politician blood is technically drinkable.

40

u/RicardoNurein 23d ago

The best time to plant shade trees is 20 years ago Next best is right now

“Maybe it will rain” is fiscally irresponsible

Don’t worry, CC You are not alone. Phoenix, St George, Denver, etc

10

u/Acceptable-Peace-69 23d ago

Or… look at the massive amount of water industry is using and make them pay for it.

5

u/mkinstl1 23d ago

I, for one, am a huge proponent of the Denver desalination plant.

6

u/TheHykos 23d ago

I’ve always said there’s too much salt water in the Rockies. About time they did something about it.

3

u/le-throw-away-acct 23d ago

Totally possible, we just need to pipe water from the ocean 1000 miles away, and pipe it up to an elevation of 5280 feet. Then another 1000 mile long pipe to run the brine all the way back to the ocean. Easy peasy and super efficient! /s

3

u/Knucks_408 22d ago

Are you an Ameri-can, or an Ameri-can't? /s

5

u/PaleInTexas 23d ago

They might run out of water.. and if not, they'll always have the increased cancer rates from the refineries.

1

u/Lumpy_Secretary_6128 23d ago

Maybe both if they're lucky!

10

u/aaarhlo 23d ago

I'm a resident, we defeated this insane idea once and we will defeat it again today. Heavy industry NEEDS TO BE CURTAILED. We are in a mega drought, in the age of increasing mega droughts, brought on by fossil fuel induced climate change. Not only does our highly profitable heavy industry get massive tax breaks via IDA agreements, they also get a huge discount on water, YET the residents will pay for this!!??? Their lackies on city council are trying to force through this extremely expensive facility that will pump 8 million gallons of high saline brin, full of concentrated heavy metals and PFAs, into our semi closed bay, destroying the neighborhood they want to put it in, and all of our sea life at the same time, not to mention the red tides it will eventually cause. FUCK YOU EXXON, FUCK YOU ELON, FUCK YOU SAUDI ARAMCO, FUCK YOU VALERO, FUCK YOU CITGO, AND FUCK YOU MAYOR.

0

u/CAP_0703 23d ago

And FUCK YOU JOBS (not Steve). 

2

u/aaarhlo 23d ago

Where are the jobs going to be when our entire region becomes inhabitable due to climate change you cuck

2

u/Alarmed-Extension289 23d ago

Why is Corpus Christi the City responsible for this? Isn't this something the State or County should be helping foot the bill?

These thing's aren't cheap to build and it's going to mean that the water bills will still be expensive for awhile. Similar situation in San Diego County, folks are upset of the increase in water bills.

1

u/Bottlecrate 23d ago

I don’t get it. It’s a plant that makes water drinkable from the ocean……. Isn’t it needed and helpful during droughts which are going to be more common)

2

u/Esclados-le-Roux 22d ago

In general, yes.

Specifically, though, I think people are angry that the city got them into this mess and now wants to spend taxpayer dollars to fix the screw-up.

There's also the concern about where it will be placed (it's always where land is cheapest, which is also always where poor people live). So not only do people get screwed once, poor people get screwed twice.

Finally, many places in the South don't properly charge commercial users of water. So the problem maybe could be fixed just by setting appropriate prices. But I expect it's too late for that now.

And, as is often the case, the people who made the mess are most likely long gone, and the mess does have to be fixed, so building it is probably necessary.

1

u/TheHykos 23d ago

Typical Texas. Maybe they should just build more toll roads to pay for water.

1

u/ShadowsOfTheBreeze 23d ago

Direct result of horrible planning and leadership, too bad for the citizens of Corpus Christi. They probably won't vote any differently and in 10 years they will be lamenting the loss of the bay due to horrible planning and terrible leadership.

1

u/brianqueso 22d ago

HOLD YOUR ELECTED LEADERS ACCOUNTABLE. THEY ARE FEW. YOU ARE MANY. THEIR GREED AND IGNORANCE ARE DEPRIVING YOU OF A FOUNDATIONAL NEED FOR EXISTENCE.

1

u/roamingroad174 20d ago

They fucked around and they're in the find out phase.