Turning the Tide

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – At the Island University, water isn’t just scenery — it’s identity. At Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, the Gulf shimmers just steps from campus, shaping not only the landscape but the work happening within it. From safeguarding water quality to advancing conservation and harnessing technology for smarter management, researchers are tackling water challenges from multiple angles — stretching from the oilfields of West Texas to underserved communities along the Coastal Bend and even beneath city streets.

A NEW HOPE FOR CLEAN WATER

For more than a century, the Midland-Odessa area of Texas, located in the heart of the Permian Basin, has been defined by oil. Its legacy lives on at the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum and across a landscape dotted with pump jacks.

In the small town of Imperial, on land once occupied by a drilling rig, a different resource has bubbled to the surface. Groundwater — enough to form a small lake. Now, that lake has become the proving ground for a breakthrough in water reuse.

TAMU-CC researchers are partnering with industry leaders to test a system designed to clean heavily contaminated water and make it reusable. The technology, known as the Harmonic Frequency Cascade, was developed by Mark Law, founder of Coactus LLC.

“In this case, the system can collect brine — a highly concentrated saltwater solution — and make that water functional again,” said Dr. Richard Coffin, Professor of Physical and Environmental Sciences. “Our initial plan is to process 1,000 gallons per minute and we have the capability to expand this volume.”

The patented process uses high heat to break down complex organic compounds. As contaminants separate and solidify, they are removed, leaving cleaner water behind. Since 2018, Coffin — working in a lab led by Chemistry Professor Dr. Hussain Abdulla — has tested the system on everything from oilfield-produced water to hydraulic fracturing wastewater, diesel, crude oil, used cooking oil, and even untreated sewage.

“The university’s testing has been essential in validating the technology,” Law said. “We’ve moved from a proof of-concept unit to building multiple commercial devices.”

With support from the U.S. Department of Energy, discussions about expanding the technology’s use across Texas are underway. And as drought tightens its grip statewide, the stakes continue to rise.

“I used to think the biggest thing that would impact the general public would be oil limitations,” Coffin said. “But now, it’s water. Recovering water to support data centers, along with industrial, municipal, and agricultural applications is critical. And we’re going to be able to do that. This technology is amazing — and it’s the future.”

BREAKING GROUND IN GROUNDWATER RESEARCH

Closer to home, in rural Nueces and Aransas counties, another water story is unfolding in communities known as colonias — neighborhoods that often lack reliable access to drinking water infrastructure, drainage systems, and sewer service.

For many residents, groundwater is the only source of drinking water.

Graduate students from TAMU-CC are working alongside Dr. Dorina Murgulet, Professor of Hydrogeology and Director of the university’s Center for Water Supply Studies, on projects funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Science Foundation. The goal is to understand how flooding affects groundwater quality and identify solutions that work with nature rather than against it. As part of that approach — because soils, geology, and groundwater flow vary from place to place — the team evaluates site-specific pathways and risks rather than assuming a single outcome across all communities.

“Because of poor drainage, among other factors, in these low-lying areas, downpours can cause flooding,” Murgulet explained. “Our hypothesis is that floodwaters can carry contaminants from faulty septic systems, agricultural areas, or dump sites — and that contamination can seep into the groundwater that residents may depend on, from which, in some settings, it may also be transported to nearby surface water.”

By collecting soil and water samples before and after major rain events, the team tracks how contaminants move across the landscape and into aquifers.

The research doesn’t stop at data collection. Students also share results with residents, helping them better understand water quality and the importance of maintaining septic systems.

The team is exploring nature-based solutions — restoring native vegetation, improving soil infiltration, and installing green infrastructure that slows and filters runoff, potentially reducing contaminant loading before water reaches nearby waterways or drinking-water wells.

For students, the experience is transformative.

“I’ve been able to work with equipment I’d never used before,” said doctoral student Ifeanyi Emmanuel Anyanwu ’27. “Working with people from different backgrounds has also been a privilege.”

USING AI TO FIX AN OLD PROBLEM

Not all water challenges are visible. Some run beneath city streets.

In partnership with the City of Corpus Christi, TAMU-CC researchers are working to modernize how municipalities monitor aging sewer systems. The project, supported by the National Science Foundation, is led by Dr. Wenlu Wang, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, and Dr. Hua Zhang, Professor of Civil Engineering.

Instead of relying solely on manual inspections and resident complaints, the team has installed sensors inside manholes to collect data such as water depth and inflow rates. That information feeds into a customized graph neural network — an artificial intelligence model designed to reflect the city’s unique wastewater layout that can monitor conditions and predict issues before they happen.

“The current wastewater system relies on extensive manual inspections that are time-consuming, labor-intensive, and costly,” Wang said. “This is a much more efficient system that helps workers be much more proactive, than reactive.”

The system, currently being tested around TAMU-CC property, acts as a digital twin of the sewer network, analyzing patterns in real time and forecasting potential problems before they become emergencies.

Doctoral students Qiming Guo ’27 and Bishal Khatri ’28 play a central role in the project — from data collection and modeling to presenting findings through international conferences and journals.

“The students are spearheading the core components of the work,” Zhang said. “And this technology is so new, we are learning alongside them.”

For the research team, the impact extends beyond city limits. By developing a production-ready prototype, they hope Corpus Christi can serve as a model for other communities facing similar infrastructure challenges.