Texas kickstarts new desalination frontier

The City of Corpus Christi is turning to desalination to help provide a resilient water supply for the Coastal Bend Region of Texas.

 

The third largest plant in the Americas

The first of its kind in the state, and the third largest desalination plant in the Americas, the Inner Harbor Water Treatment Campus project will deliver 30 million gallons (113 million litres) per day of potable water, with what is being called the “lowest possible energy consumption”.

Ravi Chidambaran, president & CTO at Aquatech, told Aquatech Online: “The energy consumption of this technology is optimised by designing a membrane system at the best efficiency point for the TDS and temperature variations specific to the Corpus Christi site.”

 

Mitigation against biofouling

One of the factors constraining the efficiency of seawater reverse osmosis plants is biofouling that affects membrane performance. Biofouling can lead to pressure drops in the RO system and permeability issues. One of the common treatments for biofouling involves chorine-based chemicals which can damage the membrane surface, negatively impacting performance, or lead to build up of dead bacteria which can fuel the fouling process.

 

The Corpus Christi Inner Harbour plant is designed to maintain a very low energy consumption over a long period of operation - Chidambaran

 

Chidambaran explained to Aquatech Online how this would be overcome at the Inner Harbor Water Treatment Campus: “We mitigate biofouling through deactivation of bacteria, and coagulation of organics using an electrochemical method, providing a feature of non-chemical cleaning which does not allow progression of fouling.”

He added: “Overall, the Corpus Christi Inner Harbour plant is designed to maintain a very low energy consumption over a long period of operation.”

 

Addressing future drought concerns in Texas

The plant will help to mitigate a growing water crisis in Texas. For the first time ever, in early 2025, the city of Corpus Christi moved into a Stage 3 water restrictions, the stage for an emergency is declared. This follows moves by Portland, Robstown, Port Aransas, Rockport, Beeville, and Kingsville. During the early part of 2025, levels at Lake Corpus Christi and Choke Canyon, reservoirs used by the city, had fallen below 20 per cent of capacity.

 

Levels at Lake Corpus Christi and Choke Canyon, reservoirs used by the city, had fallen below 20 per cent of capacity

 

Under Stage 3 restrictions, residents are not allowed: Water lawns on any day; swimming pools must be covered when not in use; home car washing is limited to one bucket of water and on a designated watering day; hand watering of plants, pots, shrubs and vegetables is allowed using a small watering can but only before 10am and after 6pm to limit water losses; and foundation watering by drip irrigation, handheld hose or small bucket is only allowed every other week on a designated watering day.

Most of the restrictions apply to outdoor use only and are applicable to businesses as well as residents. Restaurants must serve water only on request and post conservation notices, while commercial car washes are unaffected if they use recycled water.

 

In addition to desalination, how is the city securing water?

As well as the desalination plant and stage 3 restrictions, the city is working to secure additional groundwater sources, increasing pipeline capacity, reducing municipal water use and conducting educational outreach to improve water conservation and reuse efforts. The city also makes available treated wastewater for certain commercial and industrial use, but not for direct human contact.

Construction of the plant is expected to start in early 2026, with completion scheduled for 2028. The city has selected Kiewit to act as prime contractor, and GHD to provide process design services.