Corpus Christi City Council is set to discuss Tuesday whether to revive a controversial and ambitious endeavor to build a desalination plant to convert seawater into drinkable water - a project the council rejected nine months ago over high costs and environmental concerns.

A stubborn drought and rising demand has left the city strapped for water, but the coastal community is still divided on whether an expensive plant is worth the cost to taxpayers and the local ecosystem.

Desalination removes salt and other minerals from seawater or salty groundwater, but plants are expensive to build and require lots of energy to run.