The Nueces River Authority has chosen to work with IDE Technologies, an Israeli water treatment and desalination company, on its Harbor Island project.
The river authority’s Board of Directors identified the firm as its preferred development partner for the project during a May 21 meeting. Once the agreement is finalized, IDE Technologies will build the desalination plant with an expected capacity of 100 million gallons of water per day.
River authority leaders have spoken of expanding the capacity further at a later date.
IDE Technologies has worked on 400 plants in 40 countries, according to the company’s website. It specializes in desalination and industrial water treatment plants. The company website lists desalination projects across the globe, including a project in Carlsbad, California.
According to an April article from myRGV.com, the company is also partnering with US Desalination LLC and Cameron and Hidalgo counties on a $1 billion desalination plant on South Padre Island.
Mark Ellison, Texas business development director for IDE Technologies, said the next steps for the Harbor Island project are to complete permitting for the project and communicate with the community to “demystify” desalination and better understand community needs and wants.
Ellison said that the company is interested in the project due to an interest in Texas and the need for water in Corpus Christi.
Corpus Christi City Manager Peter Zanoni was in attendance at the meeting. The city has already paid a $2.7 million fee to the Nueces River Authority to reserve water from the project.
Zanoni said the board’s selection of an experienced development partner offers “a level of more certainty” that the project will likely be completed.
Desalination, a new frontier for the river authority, has come to consume much of the organization’s focus. According to information shared during financial discussions at the May 21 meeting, much of Executive Director John Byrum’s and Deputy Executive Director John Chisholm’s salaries are drawn from the organization’s desalination budget, reflecting how they spend much of their time.
Currently, the river authority is relying on reservation fees to fund the early stages of the project. It hopes to secure state or federal loans or grants to support desalination.
This spring, the Texas Water Development Board determined it does not currently have enough funds to offer the Nueces River Authority funding to design a conveyance system to deliver water from the Harbor Island project to recipient municipalities and industry partners. The river authority is expected to apply again.
Byrum said he is confident the project will find funding support. He has repeatedly expressed his belief that the project “has to be built” and “failure’s not an option.”
The board authorized Byrum to negotiate a development agreement with IDE Technologies, which will be approved by the board at a later meeting.
Olivia Garrett covers education and community news in South Texas. Have a story idea? Contact her at olivia.garrett@caller.com.
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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Nueces River Authority chooses Israeli firm as desalination partner
Reporting by Olivia Garrett, Corpus Christi Caller Times / Corpus Christi Caller Times
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