CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The projected cost of Corpus Christi’s proposed Inner Harbor desalination plant has climbed to over $1 billion.
As of July 2025, the estimated construction cost stands at $997 million, with a total project cost of roughly $1.189 billion when including additional expenses. That’s a sharp increase from the $758 million estimate reported in December 2023.
Because the project’s design is only 10% complete, the current figure is considered a Class 4 estimate — meaning the final price could vary by as much as 50%. That could push the total cost to nearly $1.5 billion.
In response to the rising price tag and growing calls for transparency, the Corpus Christi City Council voted in late June to limit the city manager’s spending authority. Effective July 1, City Manager Peter Zanoni must now obtain council approval for any expenditure over $50,000 related to the desalination project. Several council members, including Carolyn Vaughn, Eric Cantu and Gil Hernandez, backed the move, citing a need for greater oversight of large-scale infrastructure spending.
Corpus Christi Water Chief Operating Officer Drew Molly said the utility had anticipated costs would rise.
“We’ve spent the last several months learning from extensive research, meetings with experts, navigating the permitting processes, and have used the information we’ve gained to focus our design scope.”
Molly emphasized that a third-party estimator is working alongside the utility to provide cost evaluations at major design milestones — including 10%, 30%, and 60% — to ensure the projections align with industry best practices.
If costs continue to rise, the impact could fall directly on ratepayers. Under the current estimate, residential water bills could increase by $11.38 per month by 2029. That amount could drop to about $9.92 per month if the city secures federal grant funding to help offset the expense.
“We know for a fact that a brand new water supply is going to have an impact on rates,” Molly said in a Kris 6 interview. “The question is… how is it going to impact our rate customers?"
The city plans to present a final guaranteed construction cost to the City Council by December, once the project design reaches 60% completion.
