City Council hears accelerated schedule for Evangeline groundwater project; state grants free up tens of millions
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Summary
City staff and consultants told the City Council the Evangeline Groundwater Project aims to deliver partial water by November 2026, buying groundwater rights for 24 million gallons per day and adding up to 24 wells. State Representative Denise Villalobos secured $46 million in appropriations for local water projects, which council approved this morning.
Corpus Christi — City officials on Tuesday presented an accelerated schedule for the Evangeline Groundwater Project and other water-supply efforts, and the City Council approved state-funded emergency grants to help support the work.
Nick Winkelman, interim chief operating officer for Corpus Christi Water, told the council the city is negotiating to acquire groundwater rights that carry existing production permits for “24,000,000 gallons a day” and plans a well field of 24 wells (22 additional wells plus two existing production wells). He said due-diligence work is under way and staff expects key deliverables ahead of contract deadlines to keep an ambitious target of partial delivery by November 2026.
The Evangeline project will include well-field piping, electrical and SCADA controls, a pump station and access roads, Winkelman said, and will require surface-use agreements with multiple landowners where wells and conveyance infrastructure will be located. “Work continues in earnest,” he said.
Chris Noe, vice president for project delivery at Pape Dawson Engineers, said his team is pushing the schedule and producing an early due-diligence report to shorten the overall timeline. “If this was a normal public procurement, four years from now would be where you would be to get water,” Noe said. “We’re talking about delivering some water in 12 months.” He described coordination with AEP, HDR and private landowners to finalize siting and utility routing.
Council members pressed staff on two risks: potential litigation by San Patricio County and the need for on‑the‑ground outreach to families whose property will host wells and access routes. City Attorney Miles Risley said hypothetical litigation belongs in executive session but noted not all lawsuits carry injunctions that would stop construction. Staff emphasized that the families who sold water rights to the Evangeline group were paid for the rights and that separate surface‑use payments for operations would be negotiated.
The council also recognized Representative Denise Villalobos, who the city said worked with the Legislature this session to secure emergency appropriations for regional water projects. Villalobos said her office submitted requests late in the process that resulted in two approved projects totaling $46,000,000 for Corpus Christi. “The state ended up approving 2 projects and $46,000,000 to bring back to Corpus Christi to help with water security to push that deadline from August 2025 all the way to November ’26,” Villalobos said.
Council voted to approve the agenda items tied to the grants and related contract amendments. City staff said next steps include stakeholder meetings with landowners, pre-application meetings with the San Patricio Groundwater District, and an amendment coming to the council to fully fund design and pre-construction services for the Evangeline well field.
Why it matters: The city is pursuing a diversified water portfolio — groundwater, reuse and seawater desalination — to avoid curtailments and meet near-term demand. The combination of accelerated engineering work and state appropriations is intended to move some delivery milestones up by months, but staff warned the schedule depends on landowner agreements, utility coordination (AEP) and permitting timelines.
What’s next: Staff said it will present contract amendments for full design and preconstruction services and planned weekly coordination meetings. The council asked staff to keep them informed about any legal risk and to continue direct outreach with landowners.
