Council approves regional interlocal on water; Inner Harbor modeling committee launched
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Summary
Council approved an interlocal agreement with Alice, Beeville and Mathis to share water and wastewater resources and heard updates on the South Texas Water Authority's possible contract amendment; staff announced a Far Field Advisory Committee and RFP process for Inner Harbor modeling, with peer-review and timing concerns raised.
The City Council voted Dec. 17 to formalize an interlocal agreement with nearby cities Alice, Beeville and Mathis to coordinate staffing, engineering support and emergency assistance for water and wastewater services.
Michael Esparza, Alice city manager, described the region's desalination and brackish-water projects and said Alice currently produces about 1.5 million gallons per day (MGD) and is scheduled to reach 3.0 MGD in early 2026. "We plan to reduce our draw on Lake Corpus Christi by roughly 90% once desalination reaches full capacity," Esparza said.
City water staff also briefed council on South Texas Water Authority (STWA) developments. Nick Winkelman, interim COO of Corpus Christi water, said the STWA board tabled a contract amendment with 7 Seas and scheduled a workshop for Jan. 13 before a board reconsideration. An initial STWA plant was described as 3 MGD; staff said approximately 1.4 MGD could be available to Corpus Christi depending on STWA's final plan and site.
Separately, staff announced formation of a Far Field Advisory Committee to advise and review modeling for the proposed Inner Harbor project. Brett Van Hazel said the city will draft a scope and RFP (Plummer Associates is preparing an initial draft under an existing MSA), then the committee and a selected vendor would conduct the modeling. Staff said they hope to present vendor options in February and complete modeling by April, although several council members urged caution: councilors sought peer review of proposals and warned that the council should not vote on project contracts until the far-field modeling and safety analysis are available.
"We need a quantitative, spatial and temporal model," Councilman Bartleson said later in public comment, calling earlier permit modeling "deficient" and stressing the need for peer review before any decision on the Inner Harbor.
What happens next: STWA will hold a Jan. 13 workshop; the Far Field Advisory Committee will be formed in January, staff will solicit vendor proposals and aim to return in February with contractor options and an anticipated modeling completion target in April, subject to extension.
