City Council delays vote on $2.7 million reservation fee for Harbor Island desalination project

Corpus Christi City Council on Tuesday voted to postpone a decision to Oct. 21 on whether to pay a one‑time, nonrefundable reservation fee to the Nueces River Authority (NRA) to reserve 50 million gallons per day (MGD) of capacity from a planned Harbor Island seawater desalination plant.

The item asked the council to approve a CCW (Corpus Christi Water) payment of $2,737,631.62 to reserve 50 MGD of treatment capacity in Phase 1 of the NRA project, which is being developed as a public‑private partnership on Harbor Island. Interim Chief Operating Officer Nick Winkelman presented staff materials and said the plant’s Phase 1 design is for 100 MGD and that the project timeline estimated construction to begin in March 2027 with water production possible by December 2029. Winkelman and City Manager Peter Zanoni cautioned that final design, permits and the plant’s power and financing remain unresolved.

The reservation proposed for the city would be a single, up‑front fee and would not be credited against a future purchase price; city staff said alternative reservation amounts were available (for example, a 30 MGD reservation was shown in NRA materials at about $1.6 million). The lease of about 30 acres on Harbor Island is between NRA and the Port of Corpus…