Work will again cease on the Inner Harbor desalination project, following another Corpus Christi City Council vote striking down a contract to continue the plant’s design.
That means the staff will no longer work on the project, City Manager Peter Zanoni told council members on Sept. 1.
It was nearly a year to the day that the majority of the council rejected a similar contract — that one under a different firm — to move forward with the plant.
The vote on the contract Sept. 1 nearly mirrored last year's.
Supporting the contract were City Council members Everett Roy, Mark Scott and Roland Barrera, and voting in dissent were Carolyn Vaughn, Gil Hernandez,
Sylvia Campos, Eric Cantu and Kaylynn Paxson.
Mayor Paulette Guajardo was not present; she returns from a 30-day suspension next week.
What had been on the table was a roughly $78.6 million contract with Corpus Christi Desal Partners, which had picked up the mantle after the council dismissed continuing the design contract with Kiewit Infrastructure South Co. last September.
The proposed contract with CCDP was to cover the costs to complete 60% of the plant’s design and develop a guaranteed maximum price for the project.
The estimate for development of a plant capable of producing as much as 30 million gallons of treated water per day rang in at about $979 million.
The positions of council members, disclosed for months, did not change, despite an amended proposal that would develop the project in two phases — in the latter phase, expanding its capacity and incorporating a pipeline to the gulf for brine discharge.
Cost estimates to construct it under the two-phase proposal were quoted around $4 billion.
Generally speaking, opponents have cited concerns of cost, the environment and its location adjacent to a neighborhood.
Proponents have asserted that studies have shown it would be safe for the bay and cited the project as playing a role in potable water production needed to support economic growth.
Despite the council turning down the contract, the project isn't necessarily dead. Its permits, at least for now, are intact.
Staff will begin contacting state agencies about the decision, including the Texas Water Development Board, Zanoni told council members.
The board had awarded the city $757 million in low-interest loans to support the initiative.
Kirsten Crow covers city government and water news. Have a story idea? Contact her at kirsten.crow@caller.com.
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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Corpus Christi's Inner Harbor desalination project again struck down
