As reservoir levels continue to decline, city officials are continuing to move forward with a slew of projects intended to bulk up Corpus Christi’s water supply in the near term.
As of Friday, the combined levels of Lake Corpus Christi and Choke Canyon Reservoir — the primary sources of the city’s water supply — hovered just over 19%.
The levels measure lower than they did when Stage 3 water restrictions were initially called about a month ago.
The city has been in the process of developing long-term solutions, such as a proposed seawater desalination plant capable of generating 30 million gallons of treated water per day — and further expanding the Mary Rhodes Pipeline capacity — but three new sources in consideration have all seen additional advancement in the past week.
Water ripples at Lake Corpus Christi on Aug. 3, 2022, about two months after city officials called for Stage 1 water restrictions. Corpus Christi is currently under Stage 3 water restrictions.
Those are a different desalination plant, partially constructed by an industrial company; revisiting groundwater in wells used for supply by the city in decades past; and expanding a treated effluent program that would make reclaimed water available for residents’ lawns.
The city has been in a steady, deepening drought since Stage 1 water restrictions were first called in June 2022. Stage 2 restrictions were called in March and, subsequently, Stage 3 in December.
The city draws water from four sources, all of which are rivers, lakes and reservoirs.
The present circumstances illustrate a reality about the region and the nature of depending on surface water, city officials have said.
“The situation we’re in is a hard reminder that drought is a normal thing in the South Texas landscape,” said Drew Molly, chief operating officer of Corpus Christi Water.
“In order to be more resilient as a city and a community, we need to have other supplies beyond things that are 100% dependent on rainfall like Choke Canyon and Lake Corpus Christi and even the Colorado River and Lake Texana.”
Here’s a breakdown of three of the new projects in the works.
Nueces River wells
In past decades, the city drew part of its water supply from groundwater yielded by seven wells on the Nueces River.
In the 1980s, that system pumped in an additional 15 million gallons of groundwater per day into the Nueces River, according to a city memo issued Jan. 5.
Officials are revisiting the feasibility of bringing them back online.
Video surveys of the wells were being performed as of early January, Molly said, inspecting the condition of the casings and screens, as well as identifying any obstructions.
Drilling new wells may also be considered, should the existing wells be found in poor condition, according to the city memo.
Groundwater can be “a reliable source during droughts when surface water reservoirs are depleted,” said Dorina Murgulet, a professor of hydrogeology and the director of Coastal Water Supply Studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.
“It’s probably the most efficient and quick solution to our issues right now,” she said.
Reclaimed water for residential use
City officials say there is opportunity to broaden the uses of treated effluent already generated each day — making the reclaimed water available for residential, nondrinking uses.
Treated effluent is already used through a purple pipe system to irrigate some commercial properties, such as golf courses and cemeteries, according to the city’s memo.
About two years ago, officials also launched a program selling the treated wastewater effluent for commercial nonpotable uses, such as dust suppression at construction sites, using a “filling station” at the Oso Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Under that program, approved applicants drive to the Oso Wastewater Treatment Plant site, where their trucks are loaded with the treated effluent by a city operator.
Few companies use the service, Molly said.
“I think at the end of the day, this water just really has not been capitalized very much, unfortunately,” he said. “I think part of it is because the commercial business community, I don’t think they necessarily recognize the need for it yet.”
A news release issued late Friday described city efforts “to eliminate subscription fees and streamline the permit process, making this water solution more accessible to commercial and industrial users.”
While the effluent currently meets environmental regulations for commercial standards, city officials are working on infrastructure that could determine whether it would meet residential standards, Molly said.
That could make it possible for residential nonpotable purposes, such as land irrigation, he said.
The city is in the process of setting up tanks that would enable performing testing that would determine whether treated effluent on a given day would be of the quality of residential nonpotable uses, Molly said.
Also planned is a separate filling station that would be specific to residential-grade treated effluent quality, according to city officials.
As proposed, the program would work similarly to the existing commercial program, with an online application process, Molly said.
The staff is proposing that it be a service provided to the public at no cost, he said, but added that confirmation from the City Council would be needed.
It was expected that staff would begin construction work last week, with an estimated completion date in roughly four to six weeks, according to the city memo.
The city, for its part, has been bumping up its use of the commercial-grade effluent, the memo shows.
“The parks department is now fully utilizing this water for the irrigation of over 700 trees throughout the city and other landscaped areas,” it states. “Additionally the department is securing more mobile water vehicles to expand the efforts associated with using reclaimed water.”
The interest in employing reused water as a strategy has been growing rapidly in recent years, said Noelle George, managing director of trade association WateReuse Texas.
“It’s mostly because of population growth in certain areas, but it’s outpacing the expectations that we had in our state water planning process,” she said. Another factor sparking interest are “the more extreme and changing weather conditions that are causing more unpredictability in our water supply,” she added.
Private sector desal plant
A partially constructed private sector desalination plant on an industrial property is in consideration.
Staff has been meeting with representatives from Corpus Christi Polymers LLC about the potential of building additional water supply with the company’s desalination plant, according to city officials.
The company has the permits that would enable operation of a desalination plant at its site off Joe Fulton International Trade Corridor.
The desalination plant is not completed, Molly said, estimating that it would take several months for construction to reach conclusion.
It is planned to be capable of generating about 9.4 million gallons of water per day, he said.
The plant was to be part of a plastics manufacturing facility. However, construction on the facility is not complete, and its current status is unclear.
The company declined to comment when reached by the Caller-Times.
Additional meetings between city officials and company representatives are expected in the coming weeks, Molly said.
Should the city pursue an agreement, what would be in consideration would be a type of take-or-pay contract in which the city would purchase water from the company, Molly said.
It is not proposed that the city operate the facility, he added. Whether the city may potentially help finance any of the work is still under consideration, Molly wrote in an email.
Whether the water could be potentially directed for municipal use or industrial use is also in discussions, according to the city’s memo.
“The finished water would require additional treatment to meet potable drinking water standards in order for it to be comingled with our existing drinking water system,” it states. “Alternatively the water could forego municipal treatment required by (the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality) and instead be provided as industrial water directly to one or more of our industrial partners, thereby taking them off the municipal supply from O.N. Stevens Water Treatment Plant and allowing that water to be used by other customers.”
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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Corpus Christi officials pursue projects to bolster water supply