Laguna Madre Water District outlines $72.7 million desalination plan, seeks $59 million bond on May 3 ballot

Laguna Madre Water District officials told the South Padre Island City Council that a seawater reverse‑osmosis desalination plant is on the May 3 ballot to provide a drought‑resistant water supply for the district.

The district described the full project cost as $72,700,000 and said it would produce up to 5,000,000 gallons of treated water per day in its initial phase with the potential to expand to 7.5 MGD. The ballot measure would seek authorization to issue tax bonds with a maximum principal of $59,000,000; the district said earlier funding and bonds already issued leave a remaining authorization request of $59 million for the construction phase.

Why it matters: district managers said low reservoir levels in Falcon and Amistad lakes and stage 3 (and potentially stage 4) water restrictions make an alternate water source urgent for domestic use and firefighting. The proposal includes intake, microfiltration, energy recovery devices and concentrate‑management systems, and district engineers said recent work on a wastewater outfall extension and microfiltration infrastructure is intended to support concentrate disposal and blending with Rio Grande sources.

Key details: District Engineer Charles Ortiz said a pilot plant with a temporary intake will begin in May for six months to a year to gather design data. Ortiz gave the project budget figures and said $10,000,000 of prior bond authority (from a 2011 proposition) was already issued to complete pilot and design work; the remaining project construction and associated costs were described as roughly $62,700,000 before the May ballot request. Ortiz provided a conservative tax‑rate estimate of 7¢ or less per $100 of taxable value under a no‑growth scenario, and noted that for a homestead with $200,000 in taxable value the estimated annual cost would be about $140 or less. He also said combined tax rates including the district’s sinking fund could be about 13¢ in early years as bonds are implemented.

Federal grant and timing: the district said it has a Bureau of Reclamation notice of funding for $17,501,302 and that the grant requires a cost share (approximately 25% federal, 75% state/local). The district is pursuing the financial agreement to secure that match; officials said if the federal funds are awarded they would reduce the amount of bonds the district would need to sell. District staff said the Bureau of Reclamation’s financial review is delayed by staffing reductions, and that the district’s application remains eligible if the financial agreement takes longer than the agency’s targeted schedule. The district projected a construction completion target around 2028 if the bond is approved.

Environmental and technical points: District staff cited a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers final report confirming outfall extension viability and said the Corps performed a one‑year simulation indicating the concentrate discharge would have no significant impact on Laguna Madre Bay when properly blended and discharged at the identified channel location. The district and its water superintendent also framed reverse osmosis as a method to remove PFAS (per‑ and polyfluoroalkyl substances) — a point they tied to forthcoming EPA monitoring and regulation timelines that begin this year and require infrastructure capable of meeting future maximum contaminant levels.

Public concerns and comments: district representatives said they are negotiating a lease for a small (about 2–2.5 acre) site at the Port Isabel Navigation District for a diesel plant and intake structure; a district speaker reported concerns from the Navigation District board about access fees, mentioning one board member’s proposal for a “penny a gallon” charge that could materially affect operating costs if applied. Robert Gomez, district operations, also urged local civic engagement in Navigation District elections to keep local representation on the board. Council members asked about brine disposal, modeling, grant timing and the district’s contingency assumptions; Ortiz said the project included a 25% contingency and was based on 2024 study estimates.

What the district requested: district managers asked city leaders to note the upcoming bond election and provided early‑voting locations and dates. They also said the bond measure’s language will authorize a maximum not‑to‑exceed amount ($59 million) and that the final issued amount could be reduced if grants and other funding sources are secured.

Speakers

- Carlos Galvan, General Manager, Laguna Madre Water District (presenter) - Charles Ortiz, District Engineer, Laguna Madre Water District (presenter) - Noe Cantu, Superintendent of Water, Laguna Madre Water District (presenter) - Robert Gomez, Director of Operations, Laguna Madre Water District (presenter) - Eddie Salazar, Finance Director, Laguna Madre Water District (presenter) - Jose Morales (named by Gomez during public remarks regarding navigation district leasing)

Authorities

- other: "Port Isabel Wastewater Treatment Plant outfall extension (completed 02/2017)", referenced_by:["laguna-madre-desalination-bond"] - other: "U.S. Army Corps of Engineers final report (2024) confirming outfall extension viability", referenced_by:["laguna-madre-desalination-bond"] - other: "Bureau of Reclamation desalination construction funding notice ($17,501,302)", referenced_by:["laguna-madre-desalination-bond"] - other: "2011 bond authority (Proposition 2)", referenced_by:["laguna-madre-desalination-bond"]

Clarifying_details

- {"category":"total_project_cost","detail":"Total project cost","value":72700000,"units":"USD","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"Charles Ortiz"} - {"category":"ballot_authorization","detail":"Bond authorization requested on May 3 ballot (maximum)","value":59000000,"units":"USD","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"Charles Ortiz"} - {"category":"pilot_capacity","detail":"Pilot plant data period","value":"6 to 12 months","approximate":true,"source_speaker":"Charles Ortiz"} - {"category":"production_capacity","detail":"Initial potable production capacity","value":5000000,"units":"gallons per day","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"Charles Ortiz"} - {"category":"federal_grant","detail":"Bureau of Reclamation notice amount","value":17501302,"units":"USD","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"Charles Ortiz"} - {"category":"estimated_tax_impact","detail":"Estimated tax impact under conservative scenario","value":0.07,"units":"dollars per $100 taxable value","approximate":true,"source_speaker":"Charles Ortiz"}

Proper_names

[{"name":"Laguna Madre Water District","type":"agency"},{"name":"Falcon and Amistad reservoirs","type":"location"},{"name":"Port Isabel Navigation District","type":"agency"},{"name":"U.S. Army Corps of Engineers","type":"agency"},{"name":"Bureau of Reclamation","type":"agency"}]

Community_relevance

- geographies: ["South Padre Island","Port Isabel","Laguna Vista","Laguna Heights","Long Island Village"] - impact_groups: ["households relying on municipal water","fire departments","local businesses"]

Provenance

- transcript_segments:[{"block_id":"424.945","local_start":0,"local_end":518,"evidence_excerpt":"Good evening, mayor McNulty and, council members. Carlos Galvan from Laguna Madre, General Manager at at the water district. Just wanna, go quick because I know you have a lot long agenda. I I wanna present, Robert Gomez. He's our director of operations. Charles Ortiz. He's our engineer. And then we have Eddie Salazar, our finance director. And then, Noe Cantu. He's our, superintendent of water.","reason_code":"topicintro"},{"block_id":"1817.51","local_start":0,"local_end":68,"evidence_excerpt":"And what year is the if it passes on May 2 or whatever, what year is, the completion date for the project? Yeah. Say 2028.","reason_code":"topicfinish"}]

Salience

- overall:0.85,"overall_justification":"Large infrastructure and taxpayer impact, imminent ballot question and federal grant request","impact_scope":"regional","impact_scope_justification":"Project would supply multiple municipalities in the Laguna Madre Water District","attention_level":"high","attention_level_justification":"Ballot vote scheduled May 3 and potential near‑term construction financing needs","novelty":0.6,"timeliness_urgency":0.90}