b'E d i t o rGo to your phone and Google, How much does a seawater desalination plant cost? You see, the first trick in the book for creating imaginary cost models for any large proj-ect is the basic idea that no normal person knows what it costs. Through the modern magic of search engines and artificial intelligence, we can all find what is out there on any given topic, even one this obscure. The collective result of this search? According to Medium.com, which offers the most detailed answers, the cost of a 25-million-gal-lon-per-day (MGD) seawater desalination plants construction ranges from $50 to $80 million in the Middle East, $70 to $110 million in Australia, the worlds most distant continent, and $60 to $100 million in Europe and North America. At its highest cost estimate, according to this source and matching all others we could locate, no less than ten 25 MGD plants could be built for $1.2 billion, our Citys current and constant-ly-soaring estimate for a 30 MGD plant on the Inner Harbor of the ship channel.Even in the most expensive and environmentally-regulated state in the country, Cal-ifornia, the 50 MGD Claude Bud Lewis Carlsbad Seawater Desalination Plant carried an initial construction cost of less than $1 billionthat would be for almost twice as much water production in the most expensive location in the United States.The second trick in the book of the salesman shyster is to tell us that weve spent so much on this white elephant that theres just no going back now. Under the direction of now-terminated CC Water director Drew Molly, the City released a warning to the public and specifically to dissenting Council members that residential water bills will already go up $8 per month if the desal project is canceled and no new water is deliv-ered, and $11 per month if the project is completed. Heres the problem, and why no one believes that: theyve gone from $750 million to $1.2 billion, and likely $1.5 billion for construction when its all said and donethats double. Their prototype started at $6 million and ended up at $25 million within a few short monthsthats over triple, just for a training prototype. Not one Corpus Christian with a living brain cell, including the most ardent proponents of the project, believes that $11 per month will be the final tab for taxpayers. The time to stop the bleeding is now!24THECOASTALBENDMAGAZINE TheCoastalBend.com'