The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality gave the city of Corpus Christi the green light Wednesday, Oct. 5, on a water rights permit application for one of two proposed seawater desalination plants, this one on the city’s Inner Harbor. 
The city applied for the permit in January 2020. In March 2021, the TCEQ held a public hearing on the issue. 
The state agency is still reviewing the city’s application for a discharge permit for Inner Harbor as well as water rights and discharge permit applications for the city’s proposed La Quinta Channel desalination plant.
On its website, the city states that such plants are necessary due to the lack of a dependable groundwater supply in the region. 
The Port of Corpus Christi has proposed desalination plants of its own and recently received TCEQ approval for a wastewater permit for a possible facility on Harbor Island. 
For more information on the city of Corpus Christi’s plans for seawater desalination operations, visit the city’s desalination webpage. 
chuck@thepicayune.com