Residents flood City Council with concerns over inner-harbor desalination, water conservation and industry water use

Dozens of Corpus Christi residents used the council’s public-comment period on Jan. 14 to press the City Council to pause or relocate the proposed inner-harbor desalination plant, demand stronger water-conservation measures, and call for more transparency about industrial water allocations.

Speakers during the nearly three-hour public-comment block said the inner-harbor location risks harming the bay’s ecology by discharging concentrated brine where water circulation is limited. “Dumping 50,000,000 gallons every day into a shallow bay that connects with the gulf only at its ship channel could likely kill dolphins, fish, and other aquatic life,” said Ralph Ricardo, identifying himself as a resident who moved to Corpus Christi in 2020. Fly-fishing guide Brendan Hesselton said modeling shows the inner harbor “takes approximately 1 and a half years to fully exchange” and that concentrated hypersaline brine threatens seagrasses and nursery habitat. Other speakers, including scientific experts quoted by commenters, warned of hypoxia and longer-term ecological damage.

Those opposed tied the desalination debate to concerns about environmental justice. Several speakers said the Hillcrest neighborhood — a historically Black and Latino area adjoining the ship channel and heavy industry — would bear disproportionate impacts if the inner-harbor plant is built there. “Building a desalination facility in the inner harbor is the most textbook example of environmental racism,” said Ale (Alejandra) Coda, who spoke about Hillcrest’s long history of pollution and industrial siting.

Not all public commenters opposed desalination in principle. Susie Luna Saldana and other speakers said Corpus Christi needs new water supplies and endorsed desalination if sited and operated to protect the bay. “We have to find ways to get water into our lakes. We need every single source,” Saldana said, while noting a preference for an offshore outfall so brine can dilute.

Several speakers pressed the council for concrete conservation steps: expand reclaimed-water programs, require or incentivize rainwater harvesting in new and public buildings, adopt drought-resistant landscaping on city property, and end drought exemptions for high-volume industrial users. Autumn Hincic Heinzick said five large industrial consumers use a combined 36,500,000 gallons per day and urged the council to “end the drought exemption for high-volume water users” or require meaningful cuts during drought stages.

Multiple commenters also asked for more transparent data from the city: per-capita water-use numbers, how much water is allocated to industry, and whether industrial reuse is being tracked. Christina English and Melissa Zamora said the city’s drought contingency plan needs updating and clearer public reporting; Jose Gonzalez and others urged expansion of graywater and reclaimed-water reuse for irrigation and municipal operations.

Several commenters asked council to revisit technical analyses. John Weber and Jason Hale — who described long-standing requests for far-field hydrodynamic modeling — said engineering work for the inner-harbor plan has been incomplete. “Detailed modeling will be needed to ensure permit conditions will be met under all operating cases,” Hale said, echoing points in a contractor technical document that the city staff discussed during the meeting.

Why it matters: speakers linked water supply choices to public health, livelihoods (fishing and tourism), environmental justice for Hillcrest, and long-term resilience. Many asked council to weigh alternative desalination locations, higher-cost offshore discharge, stronger conservation and industrial demand controls before committing to the inner-harbor option.

What the council did at the meeting: the public-comment period produced no immediate formal action on desalination. Council members and staff acknowledged receipt of concerns; city staff said engineering reports and permitting steps remain in process. Councilmember questions later in the agenda asked for data and reports on related items, and speakers asked the council to treat the issue as ongoing.

Ending: Residents asked for follow-up briefings, clearer public reporting on industrial water allocations and reuse, and further environmental modeling before the council endorses construction at the inner-harbor site. Several speakers said they would remain engaged at future meetings.