Corpus Christi’s Evangeline groundwater project won’t come online by the end of the year, as had initially been thought — and there are questions on whether it will come online at all, between considerations for time, money and political will of continuing to pursue an endeavor that, without an agreement, goes to the courts.
In part, it may hinge on desalination.
City of Corpus Christi officials are hoping to reach an agreement with city of Sinton officials that would lead to withdrawal of opposition against two permits needed for drilling and transport, prior to the permits being challenged in formal state administrative setting.
The city of Sinton is the largest of the entities that filed protests against the permits, contending that the Evangeline project — planned to pump as much as 24 million gallons of groundwater per day from about 23,000 acres north of Sinton — threatens the quality and availability of water from the aquifer that is its sole source for the municipal supply.
Sinton City Manager John Hobson told the Caller-Times that a solution is being sought through talks between Sinton city officials and the project developer, but part of the equation in reaching an agreement is “the city of Corpus Christi showing that they’re actually going to be moving forward with desal.”
“Our concern is that they’re not going to make it to desal and that those groundwater wells are going to become a permanent part of their water portfolio,” he said on July 8. “So we’re not really interested in the well field here becoming part of that overall permanent portfolio.”
Whether that could be agreed to — or how the city of Corpus Christi would demonstrate commitment to a desalination project — isn’t yet clear.
Acquisition of the proposed well field represents a key piece in diversifying the region’s water supply, Corpus Christi officials have said. The majority of current supply is sourced to lakes and rivers, painfully illustrated as vulnerable to the drought over the past year.
For the city of Sinton, though, the large-scale project — its production dwarfing the water volume that meets the needs of the San Patricio county seat — represents risky circumstances.
A contested case hearing, structured similarly to a civil lawsuit, hasn’t been scheduled, although a ruling by an administrative law judge in May cleared the way for the proceedings.
If negotiations are unsuccessful and the matter goes to a contested case hearing, the permits could be in limbo for years as the judicial process transpires, Corpus Christi city officials have said.
Several Corpus Christi City Council members told the Caller-Times that they remain interested in realizing the Evangeline groundwater well field. But some said that, given the present situation and costs incurred, there may be a decision needed not long into the future on whether to continue efforts.
The city so far has spent $66 million in its pursuit of tapping into the aquifer, according to a memo.
City Councilman Mark Scott said that he’s “asked repeatedly for staff to provide an off ramp.”
“I think it’s a legitimate request to develop an off ramp, or at least a pause in spending, until there is some certainty with the Evangeline project,” he said July 10.
A roughly $169 million contract for the groundwater rights — contingent on the well field developers attaining the needed permits — was preliminarily approved by the council in October 2025.
That’s among the reasons to continue forward, said City Councilman Gil Hernandez.
Ultimately, the “only thing that happens is time,” he said.
“They can contest it and then we can go through the hearing process, but I’m not sure how that reflects on whether we pursue desal or not,” Hernandez said.
The project, in whole, is estimated to cost about $665 million.
The project
Prior to the protests, city of Corpus Christi officials had expected that pumping could begin in November — starting at 4 million gallons of groundwater per day and eventually reaching as high as the already-permitted production of 24 million gallons of groundwater per day.
Evangeline groundwater, at one point, had been considered by some as the lone hope to either avoiding or staving off a water emergency, which is called six months from when the city water supply is projected to fall short of meeting demand.
The protests filed in February — by the St. Paul Water Supply Corp. and an area farm operator, in addition to Sinton — had thrown a wrench into that.
City officials have said decisions were being guided by science and data, and reports showed the project wouldn’t have a detrimental impact on surrounding wells.
An expert testifying on behalf of the city of Sinton in an April hearing disagreed. Ultimately, a judge issued a written ruling recommending that Sinton’s case go to a higher courtroom.
Although the city has been working closely with the developers of the well field, Evangeline/Laguna LLP, it has not acquired the project pending well field developers’ securing the remaining permits.
Still, city officials have made millions of dollars in investment to developing the project — design services, materials and construction work.
Design work is wrapped up, about 80 workers are on site and about 90% of the manufactured pipe has been delivered, City Manager Peter Zanoni said on July 7.
While the 4 million gallons of water per day in pumping won’t happen by the end of the year, he said there may be an opportunity to put two existing wells on the property into service in that time, should an agreement with Sinton be met.
Progress on talks will play a role in the next steps.
Zanoni said the decision on whether the city continues to invest money in the project may “come in the next couple of weeks.”
Should it be decided that the Evangeline project be abandoned, the city could recoup some of the funds already spent — for example, repurposing the purchased pipe for water and wastewater infrastructure in Corpus Christi — or possibly sell it or send it back with a restocking fee, he said.
An agreement
Some council members said they understood Sinton’s concerns, including the need for assurance on desalination initiatives.
Several plans or proposals, each at different stages, have been put before the City Council. None have been finalized.
There may be consideration of purchasing desalinated water produced by plastics manufacturer Corpus Christi Polymers, but a formal contract hasn’t come forward yet.
The council paid $2.7 million to the Nueces River Authority to reserve 50 million gallons of desalinated water per day from a future facility on Harbor Island, a project that has seen significant scrutiny in recent months.
There’s a possibility of a private-public partnership for a desalination plant near the Barney Davis Power Plant, but no plans have been hammered out.
Inner Harbor desalination has been in marked headwinds for more than a year, with major decisions to advance the plant either failing or being postponed.
An expected vote in June for a design contract was pushed back to September, pending finalized reports of additional environmental studies. Most recently, the majority of the council voted against applying for as much as $120 million in federal grants that would go to development of a plant.
Scott, who supports the Inner Harbor, said he believes the rest of the region shares in his frustration that the council is “looking at an actual doable project and not pulling the trigger.”
The desalination projects, with the exception of the Inner Harbor, come down essentially to “interesting ideas,” he said.
Last year, Corpus Christi officials had proposed a memorandum of understanding with Sinton that included plans to mitigate potential impacts to the municipality’s wells and a commitment to construct an interconnection that could supply Sinton with emergency water should there be a mechanical failure in their system.
Some of the requests Sinton had made, though, had been unreasonable, Hernandez said — what he viewed as “a poison pill to try and get us to … move away from it.”
The talks are intended to avoid delays, but he doesn’t believe “we’re going to sell our soul or be extorted by Sinton for that process,” Hernandez said.
“It’s unfortunate that we have to go through this,” he said. “It takes time away from it when we could have been moving forward to get production by next year.”
Uncertainty
Although spring rains have relieved some of the urgency, supply remains critically low. The combined capacities of Lake Corpus Christi and Choke Canyon Reservoir, Corpus Christi’s primary water sources, filled to 15.7% as July 13, according to city data.
A water emergency timeline has been pushed off by a year, from September 2026 to September 2027, according to city modeling.
Evangeline has merit, Zanoni said, and other water supply projects in consideration would be about three years out — something that may matter if the region does not see higher-than-normal rainfall in the future.
“If we don’t have this 24 million gallons, there’s nothing else available,” he said.
The city had agreed to set aside three weeks for Sinton’s hydrogeologist to review the work of the city’s hydrogeologist, Zanoni said.
It’s expected the review may be complete by the end of the week.
A July 10 letter to Sinton city officials — shown as signed by Zanoni and Nick Winkelmann, Corpus Christi Water chief operating officer — states a reaffirmation of “the City’s commitment to integrating seawater desalination as an additional water source for CCW.”
The missive lists the desalination projects in consideration and includes an offer to answer questions or “to meet to discuss the City’s progress on seawater desalination and to clarify the benefits of CCW’s diversification strategy for the Coastal Bend Region.”
The City Council denying submission of the federal grant application is an indication that the Inner Harbor won’t be approved in the future, Hobson said.
Although it’s not “completely off the table,” he’s not as optimistic as Corpus Christi city officials that an agreement would be reached between the two municipalities, he said.
“We’re kind of in a holding pattern until they can get it together and determine some way to commit to a desal project,” Hobson said. “Not just commit but move forward with a commitment of … construction documents and going to work and building a site.”
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: Future of Corpus Christi groundwater project may hinge on desalination
Reporting by Kirsten Crow, Corpus Christi Caller Times / Corpus Christi Caller Times
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By Kirsten Crow, Corpus Christi Caller Times | USA TODAY Network
