CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Mary Rhodes Pipeline will go offline Tuesday and Wednesday as crews begin scheduled maintenance and upgrades at its pump stations, according to a news release from Corpus Christi Water.
The Lavaca-Navidad River Authority, Corpus Christi Water, and their contractors will do scheduled maintenance at the Lake Texana Pump Station in Edna. At the Woodsboro and Bloomington pump stations, crews will install permanent backup pumps and variable frequency drives, and upgrade electrical systems and valve actuators. The release said the backup pumps and drives are meant to improve efficiency.
The release said pumping through the pipeline will be reduced so crews can work safely. It set this schedule, in million gallons per day (MGD):
- Sept. 29-30: Pipeline offline (0 MGD)
- Oct. 1-22: Schedule 3 operations (55 MGD)
- Oct. 22-Nov. 16: Schedule 2b operations (43 MGD)
- Nov. 16: Return to Schedule 4 operations (72 MGD)
During the work, Corpus Christi Water will rely mainly on the western reservoirs and add water from the Nueces Groundwater Program, according to the release.
The planned shutdown follows an unplanned one earlier this month. KRIS 6 News reported that the pipeline went offline on Sept. 19 after a leak was detected on a 64-inch pipe near Highway 77 and State Route 238, just north of Refugio. Crews determined that about 17 feet of pipeline had to be removed and replaced. The repair was complicated by an active gas line in the same trench as the damaged pipe.
In the city's update Sept. 25, Corpus Christi Water said water was flowing through the pipeline to the O.N. Stevens Water Treatment Plant at about 23 million gallons per day, and the pipeline was expected to gradually return to maximum pumping capacity late Friday evening.
The pipeline brings water from Lake Texana and the Colorado River. It was completed in 1998 and has had at least 33 leaks or failures since it opened, KRIS 6 News reported.
The Woodsboro work was approved in 2025. The City Council approved upgrades that included a new booster pump and new electrical and mechanical parts at the Woodsboro pump station, with completion expected by May of the following year.
At an August 2025 council meeting, Corpus Christi Water Chief Operating Officer Drew Molly said the pipeline was designed to carry up to 100 million gallons a day, but its pump stations can move only up to 79 million gallons.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
For the latest local news updates, click here, or download the KRIS 6 News App.
Catch all the KRIS 6 News stories and more on our YouTube page. Subscribe today!
