Groups urge City Council to back analysis of desalination wastewater

A coalition of a dozen community groups are urging the Corpus Christi City Council to support action on a proposal by Council Members Eric Cantu, Carolyn Vaughn and Kaylynn Paxson to launch a new study of the possible impact of desalination wastewater on the Corpus Christi Bay.

Item 1 on the March 25, 2025 City Council agenda proposes to secure “far-field modeling” services to examine the impact of the proposed Inner Harbor desalination facility’s effluent on the Bay, outside of the immediate area of discharge. If built, the $757 million facility, planned to built in the Hillcrest neighborhood, would discharge millions of gallons per day of high-salinity wastewater, raising broad concerns about creating “dead zones” in the bay.

“So far the City has refused to conduct anything but the most basic assessment of the environmental impact of the Inner Harbor facility’s discharge on the bay,” said Robin Schneider of Texas Campaign for the Environment. “Many experts have already concluded that discharge from the facility would lead to hypoxia and ‘dead zones’ in the bay, which is why it’s absolutely vital for the City to conduct a robust, independent ‘far-field modeling’ analysis before proceeding. Our coalition commends the sponsors of this item for bringing it forward, and urges the entire City Council to support it.”

The following groups urge the Corpus Christi City Council support Item 1 on the March 25, 2025 meeting agenda:

• Coastal Action Network

• Coastal Alliance to Protect Our Environment

• Coastal Bend Audubon Society

• Coastal Watch Association

• Chispa Texas

• For The Greater Good

• Hillcrest Residents Association

• Port Aransas Conservancy

• Portland Citizens United

• Sierra Club, Coastal Bend Group

• Surfrider Foundation, Texas Coastal Bend Chapter

• Texas Campaign for the Environment