CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — A Texas Commission on Environmental Quality investigation has uncovered falsified signatures on official water sampling documents submitted by the Nueces River Authority, with 38 criminal cases now pending against a former agency employee.
Some alleged irregularities cover more than 20 sampling reports for test sites ranging from Driscoll to Poth during a three-month period in summer 2024.
The investigation centers on microbial reporting forms — critical documents used to track water quality and safety — that bore signatures of individuals who authorities say did not actually collect the samples, including the agency's own executive director.
Sources close to the investigation said TCEQ submitted 38 cases of tampering with a public document to the Nueces County District Attorney's office earlier this year against the NRA's former Quality Assurance Officer. Each count of tampering with a government document is classified as a state jail felony, carrying a maximum penalty of two years in prison.
Recently, the new Nueces County District Attorney's Office received 38 counts of tampering with a governmental record with regard to water samples submitted for testing from multiple counties across South Texas. We are currently reviewing the cases in order to make a final determination of how they will be charged. Because of the number of cases, and fact that other jurisdictions are involved we are trying to coordinated with those jurisdictions. Because the water testing was done at a lab in Nueces County we have jurisdiction over those cases, but we are reaching out to the district attorneys in the counties in which these samples were allegedly taken to get their input on how to proceed. Once that process is completed the cases will be filed, and set for trial. At this point, there is no indication that anyone was injured or harmed as a result of this conduct.
According to those sources, there are questions not only related to the signatures, but also questions about whether water samples were even collected at required sampling sites.
Public records obtained through an open records request reveal that over 20 microbial reporting forms from June through August 2024 bore the signature of John Byrum, the agency's executive director, listed as the person who collected the samples.
The forms covered water samples for multiple entities including the cities of Driscoll, Premont, Poth, and Jourdanton, as well as Fowlerton Water Supply Corporation and McMullen County water districts.
Byrum told KRIS 6 that he has never collected water samples while working at the Nueces River Authority. When asked if he personally goes out and collects samples, Byrum said, "No, I do not. I have a water and wastewater license and have done that in the past, but not here at the NRA." He described his role as "mostly administrative."
The suspected irregularities came to light when Corpus Christi Water, which was testing samples collected by the NRA, suspected problems with the documentation. City officials became suspicious when they saw a form signed by an individual they believed was no longer employed by the NRA.
Upon closer examination, they also questioned whether Byrum — the agency's executive director — was actually performing field collection work himself. The city reported their suspicions to TCEQ, triggering the investigation, according to sources with direct knowledge of the investigation.
The Nueces River Authority collects water samples for approximately seven to eight entities across the region under contract. These water systems pay the NRA to collect monthly water samples on their behalf, which are then submitted to laboratories for analysis. Licensed operators under the agency's supervision are supposed to perform the field work, with the director of utilities responsible for reviewing and signing forms before submission, Byrum said.
The 21 forms bearing Byrum's signature as sampler include:
June 2024: City of Driscoll (6/26), Fowlerton WSC (6/25 and 6/4), McMullen WCID #1 (6/25), McMullen WCID #2 (6/25 and 6/4), City of Premont (6/26), City of Poth (6/27)
July 2024: McMullen WCID #2 (7/22), City of Poth (7/29), McMullen WCID #1 (7/22), City of Premont (7/19), City of Jourdanton (7/29), City of Driscoll (7/19), Fowlerton WSC (7/20)
August 2024: City of Jourdanton (8/23), City of Poth (8/23), City of Driscoll (8/26), City of Premont (8/26), McMullen WCID #2 (8/26), McMullen WCID #1 (8/26)
In an interview with KRIS 6, Byrum said that immediate personnel changes were made after the problems were discovered, but he declined to discuss specifics of the ongoing investigation or confirm how his signature appeared on the forms.
When asked directly if the forms bearing his name were personally signed by him or processed by staff, Byrum refused to answer. "I can't go into that," he said. "That is under investigation. That's an HR issue, and we just don't discuss those kind of issues to that detail."
Byrum said he first learned of the problems when "investigators showed up in my office."
"From time to time you hire people and you put them to work and give them responsibility based on their credentials, and from time to time you're disappointed," Byrum said. "When I discovered that there was an issue, I made immediate changes that day."
The executive director would not discuss whether the former QA officer would have had access to his signature. He also declined to say whether he believes criminal violations occurred, stating only that "it is in the hands of the investigators at this point in time."
When asked if there would ever be a legitimate reason his name would appear on a form for sampling work he didn't personally review or perform, Byrum answered: "No."
Byrum emphasized that water quality and integrity are priorities for the agency and said the problems have been resolved.
"We are following TCEQ protocol to the letter of the law, and we should have been doing that all along," he said. "We don't have a non-compliance in that area anymore."
Byrum said that TCEQ protocol was followed to notify the public and affected cities about the situation, though he would not elaborate on what those notifications entailed.
On August 29, 2024, the NRA board unanimously approved the establishment of a Water Utilities Laboratory. When asked what steps would ensure bringing testing in-house wouldn't reduce independent oversight, Byrum said a public-private partner would handle testing operations and that the agency would follow TCEQ protocol.
The NRA is proceeding with significant initiatives, including a seawater desalination facility on Harbor Island. The agency has secured a 30-acre lease from the Port of Corpus Christi to build a 100-million-gallon-per-day facility and has reserved 95 million gallons per day of capacity.
This week, in a 5 to 3 vote, the Corpus Christi City Council approved a $2.7 million reservation fee with the NRA for that project on Harbor Island. Councilmembers Carolyn Vaughn, Eric Cantu, Everett Roy, Gil Hernandez and Kaylynn Paxson voting yes to approve that non-refundable fee.
The former NRA employee whose name appeared on the reports has been contacted by KRIS 6 News but has not responded.
Last week, 6 Investigates submitted a Texas Public Information Request to the Nueces River Authority seeking records related to employees holding water operator licenses, including dates of hire and separation.
