The prospect of a privately owned desalination facility is raising concerns about community control and costs that residents could ultimately bear, Inside Climate News reported.
A proposed desalination plant in Texas could turn seawater into as much as 100 million gallons of freshwater each day, IDE Technologies claims.
Here's what to know
Together, the plant and pipelines would cost an estimated $6.4 billion, according to the Nueces River Authority.
Responsibility for the Harbor Island project would be divided.
The Nueces River Authority would develop the pipelines, while Israeli water-treatment company IDE Technologies would finance and build the plant on Corpus Christi Bay.
Plans include nearly seven miles of underwater tunnels and a pipeline system stretching more than 200 miles inland to communities in South Central Texas. IDE says the plant would be the largest desalination facility in the Western Hemisphere.
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Texas environmental regulators issued the plant's final permit on Sept. 23, and Harbor Island is the largest of five proposed Texas seawater desalination facilities.
None has begun operating.
Meanwhile, rapid growth and intensifying droughts are straining the state's existing water sources.
More background
The city would have to pay for its contracted supply even if it doesn't use that water.
Council member Roland Barrera raised further concerns about how much bargaining power communities would have when contracts expire after 20 or 30 years.
Seawater desalination already costs more than other water supply options, Inside Climate News noted, and private financing can push those costs higher.
Mary Grant, who directs water policy for the nonprofit Food and Water Watch, explained that private projects cannot access the low-interest government loans typically available to public utilities.
Those higher financing costs are ultimately passed on to customers, she added.
A Food and Water Watch report found that U.S. household water charges had risen faster than consumer inflation, food prices, and median household earnings.
"Privatization will only exacerbate this affordability crisis," Grant warned.
What's being done?
Corpus Christi paid $2.7 million to reserve up to 50 million gallons of water daily from Harbor Island.
IDE plans to disclose its water rates in January, per Inside Climate News. The city will then decide whether to enter a long-term purchase agreement.
The Texas Water Development Board also approved a $7 million grant to help the river authority develop the pipeline network.
But John Byrum, then the river authority's executive director, said in a Sept. 1 update that full financing remained unsecured. The authority planned to fund the remaining pipeline work through customer water contracts, according to a board handout Inside Climate News cited.
Supporters of private ownership argue that the arrangement can protect communities from construction costs that exceed expectations.
IDE regional sales director Mark Ellison said customers commit to fixed water rates in contracts signed before construction, leaving developers responsible for any overruns. Council member Gil Hernandez also argued that private construction may cost less than public projects.
For Drew Molly, Houston's chief water officer and a former head of Corpus Christi's water department, the central concern is who controls the resource.
"Water infrastructure should be owned by the community, not the property of a private company that is making a profit," Molly asserted.
Where can I learn more?
Harbor Island is part of Texas' push to secure more water — and the debate over who will pay for it. These stories cover potential financial liabilities, funding promises, and voter priorities.
• Corpus Christi may owe $307 million after rejecting a desalination plant again.
• A Texas congressman urged Trump to fulfill his water promise to Corpus Christi.
• In Texas, 79% of voters called water projects a top priority after a historic funding vote.
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