City Council approves $28 million groundwater-rights purchase as water supply debate intensifies

The Corpus Christi City Council voted to authorize a $28,000,000 purchase of groundwater rights, six existing wells and pipeline easements from ERF Real Estate Inc., approving a resolution that city staff says will help diversify the region’s strained water portfolio.

Nick Winkelman, interim chief operating officer for Corpus Christi Water, told the council the agreement covers about 2,478.69 acres adjacent to the Western Well Field and conveys existing infrastructure plus the seller’s commitment to drill five additional production wells. Based on current modeling and aquifer tests, Winkelman said the property could provide an estimated 15 million gallons per day (MGD) of raw groundwater — a provisional figure dependent on ongoing testing and model updates by hydrogeologists.

“Every time a well is drilled and an aquifer test is conducted, that data is supplied to Interra to update the model,” Winkelman said in his presentation, adding the city will install permanent monitoring wells, pressure transducers and subsidence stations and that the purchase price will be incorporated into the next fiscal-year capital plan and funded by revenue bonds and other financing.

Council members and members of the public pressed staff for clearer baseline science and for protections for nearby rural well owners. Councilwoman Carolyn Vaughn said she could not support the purchase and said residents and ranchers around the proposed site deserve fuller study before the city adds more wells.

“I’m not gonna vote for this,” Vaughn said during the debate. “My word means something…we don’t have the science that I think we should have to have before we start doing it in another area.”

Multiple public commenters raised similar concerns about subsidence, possible impacts on farmers’ and ranchers’ wells, and the pace of construction on the site. Scott Barraza of Nueces County and other speakers asked for a written “good neighbor” program and for binding protocols that would document when and how the city will mitigate or reimburse affected private well owners.

Staff said the city already is building monitoring and mitigation tools. “We will get baseline data,” Winkelman said, describing a voluntary monitoring program for local well owners and commitments to track aquifer levels and water quality. He also said the seller has provided an easement and will convey six production wells to the city; the purchase agreement includes a $200,000 earnest fee and a one-year deferment of final payment terms.

Council members also discussed related supply projects in the region, including the Evangeline Groundwater Project and recovery plans that together staff say will buy time against an expected “level 1” water emergency. Peter Zanoni, city manager, said planners must use multiple sources — groundwater, reuse, and seawater desalination — to avoid forced curtailments later in the year.

After extended public comment and council questions about monitoring, arsenic testing and financing, the motion to approve the groundwater purchase passed with seven votes in favor, one opposed, and one abstention. The council’s approval came with a commitment from staff to publish the hydrologist’s letter and to post a formal version of the good-neighbor program and monitoring protocols on the city’s project website.

What’s next: staff will finalize the purchase paperwork, incorporate the acquisition into the FY budget and capital plan, and continue aquifer testing and model updates. The council was told the projected yield from the property could increase or decrease as more pumping and test data are added to the regional groundwater model.