Corpus Christi DPR Feasibility Study

Garver provided professional services to develop a direct potable reuse (DPR) pilot testing program for the City of Corpus Christi (the City). The City has experienced increased strain on its potable water supplies, with the Texas Water Development Board reporting that industrial potable water demands doubled (from 40 to 80 MGD) in the Coastal Bend Region from 2010 to 2020. The City partnered with Garver to identify alternative sources for a new water supply to address these concerns.

Garver conducted multiple meetings with the City and visited sites to evaluate optimal demonstration and pilot-scale potable reuse treatment location(s). Our team worked with the City to show that DPR could potentially offset potable water demands and minimize the size and cost of additional alternative water supplies the City may need to explore in the future, including desalination, and imported surface and ground water.

The evaluation showed the Greenwood WWTP and Allison WWTP were the most viable facilities for potable reuse, because of their proximity to areas of future population growth, as well as their close vicinity to potable water infrastructure for transmission and distribution. Both plants were also near potential aquifer storage and recovery sites to help address increases in demand.

Each location offered potential for indirect potable reuse, as well, which would utilize an environmental buffer. However, Greenwood was selected as the primary testing location due to the relative quantity of effluent available for a future water reuse program. Ultimately the pilot test addressed scarcity challenges and offered a roadmap to water security for the future of the community. Shortly after completing the evaluation, Garver was selected to develop a DPR facility for the City beginning in 2025.