City Council Approves Next Steps Toward Seawater Desalination Plant
Authorizes Contract Negotiations with Corpus Christi Desal Partners
Corpus Christi, TX – At today’s regularly scheduled City Council meeting, the Council approved a resolution authorizing the negotiation of a contract for the Inner Harbor Seawater Desalination Treatment Plant project with Corpus Christi Desal Partners (CCDP), a joint venture with Acciona Agua Corporation and MasTec Industrial Corporation.
The approval directs City staff to develop the design-build contract with CCDP for City Council's consideration in April.
“This is a significant step forward in securing long-term, reliable water supply for our customers,” said Nicholas Winkelmann, Chief Operating Officer of Corpus Christi Water. “We are pleased to move forward with a highly qualified team committed to delivering this critical infrastructure project.”
Acciona Agua Corporation has designed and built over 540 water treatment plants with a total installed capacity of 9,500 million gallons per day (MGD). The company has also designed, built, and commissioned seawater reverse osmosis desalination plants with a total installed capacity of 1,849 MGD.
Acciona currently operates 25 seawater desalination plants producing more than 500 MGD, including the 29 MGD Tampa Bay Desal Plant, the second largest desalination plant in the United States.
Over the past 15 years, MasTec has led 130 water and wastewater projects, including Design-Build, Design-Build-Operate, and Construction Managers at Risk delivery methods. MasTec is certified as a Minority-Controlled Company by the National Minority Suppliers Development Council (NMSDC) and is the second-largest minority-owned company in the United States.
The City has maintained key foundation components of the previous Inner Harbor Desalination Plant project, including approved intake and discharge permits from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE).
The City has also maintained property agreements with Flint Hills Resources, power infrastructure agreements with AEP, low-interest SWIFT loans from the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), and distribution infrastructure through the Navigation Pump Station.
The project timeline moving forward is as follows:
· April 2026: City Council to consider approval of the final design-build contract with CCDP for the Inner Harbor Desalination Plant project.
For the latest news and updates on the City’s water supply projects, visit Securing Water, Together. | Corpus Christi Water.
For more information, contact Ashley Marion, Strategic Business Manager, at (361)826-3706 or ashleym6@cctexas.com.