Documents obtained by Six Investigates show Corpus Christi Water has raised concerns about a railroad crossing built over the Mary Rhodes Pipeline — the infrastructure now responsible for transporting nearly 75% of the city's water supply.
In 2024, Corpus Christi Water's then-Chief Operating Officer Drew Molly wrote a memo to City Manager Peter Zanoni addressing a railroad spur being built over the Mary Rhodes Pipeline by the Port of Victoria.
"The city is very concerned about potential damage to the line during construction and the ability to access the line for future maintenance after the zero-load bridge is constructed," Molly wrote.
Corpus Christi Water's new COO, Nick Winkelmann, said the work at that crossing has since been completed without incident.
"CCW was on-site during the construction. If the staff saw any potential activity that may harm the pipeline they would've stopped the construction. None of that took place," Winkelmann said.
Six Investigates also reached out to the Port of Victoria. They provided no comment at this time.
Winkelmann said the city has ongoing measures in place to protect the pipeline not just at that crossing, but along its entire 143-mile stretch.
"The CCW has a team that manages, maintains, and operates both the Bloomington and Woodsboro pumping stations. They do easement checks. They also continually monitor pressures along the pipeline as well," Winkelmann said.
When Molly sent the 2024 memo, the Mary Rhodes Pipeline carried about half of the city's water supply. Today, that figure has grown to nearly 75%, making any disruption to the pipeline significantly more difficult to address.
"Due to our current water supply situation it's very hard, in fact it's nearly impossible to take that pipeline down to do some more of that recommended maintenance work," Winkelmann said.
Winkelmann said the city's reliance on the Mary Rhodes Pipeline needs to change through diversifying its water supply projects, rather than depending solely on its reservoirs.
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