Nueces River Authority outlines offshore desalination plan and offers Aransas Pass a 30-day reservation window

Travis Pruska, chief operations officer for the Nueces River Authority, told the Aransas Pass City Council that the authority plans to build a large-scale offshore desalination plant on Harbor Island and a regional pipeline to serve dozens of South Texas communities.

Pruska said the project stems from a regional shortage identified in state water planning: the authority estimates a roughly 270,000,000‑gallon‑per‑day deficit by 2030 and a larger shortfall by 2070. Phase 1 is planned at 100 million gallons per day (MGD) with potential expansion to 500 MGD long term. The authority aims to have the plant operating by 2029 and the pipeline completed by about 2032.

The proposed facility would use modern reverse‑osmosis technology. Pruska described a 12‑foot‑diameter intake approximately 1.3 miles offshore at roughly 35 feet depth and a 12‑foot discharge pipe out to 1.8–3.6 miles offshore at about 44 feet depth. He said permits already cover intake/discharge volumes of roughly 312 million gallons (intake) and 191 million gallons (discharge), and that intake and discharge points are well offshore to avoid direct impacts to bays, estuaries and ship channels. The authority is leasing Harbor Island from the Port of Corpus Christi under a 50‑year lease with a 30‑year option.

On health and monitoring, Pruska said the RO process removes salt and other contaminants and that operators will remineralize and apply routine disinfection. He said the plant would be monitored continuously and subjected to frequent testing.

Pruska outlined commercial terms the authority is offering local governments: reservation contracts to secure a daily allocation, followed later by long‑term “take‑or‑pay” contracts likely to match a 30‑year bond financing term. As an example he used reserving 1,000,000 gallons per day and said reservation payments would be split (example: $27,000 this year and $27,000 next year) and are nonrefundable, with money used for pipeline design and engineering. He estimated wholesale cost under different financing scenarios at roughly $10–$15 per thousand gallons absent substantial state subsidy, and said state funding (he referenced a statewide water fund ballot proposition) could reduce that price.

Council members pressed on routing through Aransas Pass, local hookup costs and the risk of higher bills. Pruska said the final local routing and easements are still being engineered and that the authority will work with city staff to site a connection as close as possible for first‑round customers; communities that join in later would likely need to extend to the installed pipeline. He also said the authority has sold most of the first 100 MGD and has a waiting list for additional capacity.

Pruska asked the council to indicate interest within 30 days; he said the authority will hold the water in good faith and return later with take‑or‑pay contract terms and more refined pricing. He encouraged public input and further staff conversations during that window.

What happens next: Council members said they will seek more public comment, coordinate with the local water provider that currently purchases water from Corpus Christi, and consider whether to join the reservation round within the 30‑day window.

Quote highlights: “We plan to be under contract by February 2026,” Pruska said, and later, “This is a take‑or‑pay contract…you are buying that water.”