Desalination: Options
Desalination is a globally utilized method of providing water in areas that are prone to drought or have brackish groundwater. Of the estimated 22,000 facilities worldwide, approximately 400 plants can be found in the United States. Of those 400 plants, 95% are simple, cost-effective brackish water desalination plants such as the facility recently commissioned in Alice, Texas. This leaves about 15 operational seawater desalination plants currently supplying water for municipal use domestically.
Of those 15 facilities, only 2 produce quantities of water similar to what is being proposed at the Inner Harbor. In fact, if built, the Inner Harbor Desalination Plant will be the second largest plant ever constructed in the United States. Another characteristic that makes the Inner Harbor unique, is that it discharges into a semi-enclosed bay system. This has never been attempted anywhere in the world, and due to the scale of our project, this variable has many scientists and engineers at odds concerning the viability of the project both from an ecological and an operational perspective.
The current proposal on the table is for a city owned facility. This raises questions on if the city is capable of successfully building, operating, and maintaining the second largest seawater desalination plant in the United States. Most large-scale plants are developed using Public Private Partnerships (P3’s) and Build Own Operate Transfers (BOOTS). Both of these methods of delivery transfer the risk of developing these complex projects from the municipalities they serve to the private sector.
Because of the complexity and risk involved in large-scale seawater desalination projects, I am in support of these best practices for procurement. Some would argue that this is essentially a privatization of the water supply, but that is not necessarily true. Corpus Christi Water will still be selling the water to our customers, but we will be leaving the production up to professionals that specialize in this type of treatment.
If elected, I would support the issuance of a request for proposals to all major leaders in the desalination space. All available sites and studies would be made available to the respondents and let them provide guaranteed pricing per thousand gallons.
Over the past year, we have overly complicated the discussion with our current council. The city council is a representative government made up of ordinary citizens with expertise in various areas. None of which specialize in hydrodynamic modeling, hydrogeology, or marine biology just to name a few. We have put a profound amount of technical information in front of our leaders with the expectation that they understand and digest all of it. This is simply an unrealistic expectation. What they are capable of is looking at is a price per thousand gallons and determining what the best value for their citizens and water customers is.
Another thing to consider is, last year, many local taxing entities to a huge hit to their budgets when San Antonio owned CPS Energy purchased the Nueces Bay and Barney Davis power plants. If built by the private sector, any large-scale desalination facility will pay ad valorem taxes to the entities within their jurisdiction. Can you imagine the upside to the City and Flour Bluff ISD if a billion-dollar facility was built within their boundaries?
There is no reason to reinvent the wheel. We should follow the lead of municipalities all over the globe and secure an economical and safe drought-proof solution that does not put the City of Corpus Christi in financial peril. The private sector is faster, more efficient, and the added benefit of the increase in the tax base makes this type of proposal a win-win for all involved.