The City of Corpus Christi (City) currently provides water service to customers on North Padre
Island, Port Aransas, and the Padre Island National Seashore through a single 24-inch
subaqueous pipeline crossing the Laguna Madre near the JFK Causeway. Water demands in
these service areas are expected to double, at minimum, over the next 20 years. The City has
identified the need for an alternate supplemental water supply source to accomplish the
objectives of improving existing water service, meeting projected demands, and improving
overall system reliability, while maintaining cost-effectiveness.
These objectives were to have been met by construction of a second subaqueous pipeline
across the Laguna Madre. However, the environmental sensitivity of the Laguna Madre has led
the City to consider whether other alternatives were available to meet its objectives. The goal of the Padre
Island Desalination Plant (PIDP) Feasibility Analysis and Siting Plan is to answer that
question.
The PIDP Feasibility Analysis and Siting Plan is broad-based, and includes evaluation of:
the character and sustainability of potential source waters, including two brackish
groundwater aquifers and seawater from the Gulf of Mexico as reverse osmosis feed water;
treatability of the three source water options by reverse osmosis (RO);
RO byproduct disposal options, including ocean outfall, deep well injection, thermal
distillation, evaporation ponds, and freeze concentration;
six different facilities siting alternatives;
alternative methods of groundwater extraction and well field siting options, with the objective
of mitigating potential subsidence resulting from groundwater withdrawals; aquifer storage recovery (ASR) as a means to reduce capital expenditures;
public issues and development of a public involvement plan; and,
project delivery alternatives and potential funding sources.
While economic evaluations were developed for a baseline 5.0 mgd project capacity,
recommendations that included phased project implementation were developed. Based on the
results of the study, the City of Corpus Christi is considering the role brackish water desalination
may play in meeting its long-term water supply needs. As a next step, the City is considering
implementation of a demonstration-level project that will include both brackish groundwater
desalination and ASR. Includes tables, figures.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 1000 KB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 19 |
| Published : | 01/11/2004 |
