With the completion of Mary Rhodes Pipeline Phase 2, Corpus Christi now has four major sources of water — a fact that should keep the Coastal Bend economy growing.
“We would not have the global economy or the industry we now have without the Mary Rhodes pipeline,” said Mayor Nelda Martinez at a media conference for the project. The event was held at the O.N. Stevens water treatment plant in Corpus Christi, where 46 million additional gallons of water a day end a journey from the Colorado River. Other sources of water come from Lake Corpus Christi, Choke Canyon Reservoir and Lake Texana.
Martinez praised the pipeline’s namesake, the late mayor Mary Rhodes, for overcoming multiple challenges as she pursued getting the project approved and built. She was credited with acquiring 35,000 acre-feet of water rights for the Colorado River from Garwood Irrigation Co. in 1992, then negotiating the funding and support that turned her vision into a reality. 
“Without Phase 1, our city would already be out of water,” Martinez said. “Today is a great day for the city of Corpus Christi. It’s happened, we’re happy and we are going to build on this.”
Calling the city “arguably the best long-term water planners in the state,” Martinez said Phase 2 can provide 298 acre-feet of water a day to the city, making it a “catalyst for jobs and growth.” 
City Manager Margie Rose also praised the late mayor, who died of cancer in 1997.
“Thanks to the late Mary Rhodes, we are in better and safer position to serve of our community,” she said. “If ever there was a woman whose vision helped shape the Coastal Bend’s future, it was Mary Rhodes.” 
A commemorative plaque unveiled at the media conference includes an etching of Rhodes in bronze. 
Phase 1, which cost $116 million, begins at a two-pump station at the Colorado River. Those pumps push water through a 54-inch concrete conduit to Lake Texana and a storage tank. Phase 2 takes over from there. Phase 2 cost $154 million for the final stretch.