A historic drought has gripped Corpus Christi, the eighth-largest city in Texas, placing unprecedented strain on a water system that serves roughly 500,000 people across seven counties, along with one of the nation’s largest petrochemical corridors and Port of Corpus Christi, the country’s top port for crude oil exports.
Industrial demand accounts for more than half of the region’s water use.
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More than 95% of the city’s water supply comes from surface water, primarily lakes and reservoirs, according to the state’s 2022 water plan. The storage levels of two of the three reservoirs that supply the city, Lake Corpus Christi and Choke Canyon Reservoir, have fallen to 8.4%, as of March 23.
Rainfall is not likely to help much, unless it’s a lot. High summer temperatures will increase evaporation rates in the reservoirs and the drought-blasted ground is likely to suck up any rainfall and inhibit runoff into the area’s rivers and reservoirs.
The city is facing mounting pressure to act quickly. A water emergency may be just two months away, according to city leaders.
Officials outlined five potential scenarios — two of which would push the city into a level one water emergency by May. At that point, the city’s water supply would be projected to fall short of demand within 180 days. The city has not confirmed which scenario it will prepare to follow, but is expected to narrow down the possibilities by April as more data becomes available.
City officials have yet to finalize a curtailment plan that would determine how water use would be reduced for residents, businesses and industry during shortages.
Here’s a guide on the water projects the city is working on:
Boosting water from a main pipeline
The city’s secondary water supply comes from the 141-mile Mary Rhodes Pipeline that transports water from Lake Texana and the Colorado River. Recently, Corpus Christi increased the pipeline’s capacity by 24 million gallons per day, and it’s currently working at max capacity, according to city officials, delivering approximately 72 million gallons per day to the region.
However, that lifeline is increasingly uncertain. Under drought rules set by the Lavaca-Navidad River Authority, which operates the lake, water deliveries would typically be reduced 10% once Lake Texana falls below 50% capacity. With the reservoir nearing that threshold, concerns mounted over potential supply cuts.
In response, Gov. Greg Abbott intervened, ordering the threshold lowered to 40%. The authority temporarily exempted the city from the threshold but kept it in place for other water users.
The state approval to keep pulling large amounts of water from Lake Texana has bought the city time before a possible water emergency, likely pushing it back to at least July, Corpus Christi City Manager Peter Zanoni said on March 20.
Drilling wells to pump groundwater
Lake Corpus Christi is primarily fed by the Nueces River, while Choke Canyon Reservoir gets its water from the Frio River — and the flow of both rivers is down during the drought.
To bridge the growing supply gap, the city has turned to groundwater projects as a short-term fix:
Nueces County fields: Two well fields in Nueces County are already pumping water from underground aquifers into the Nueces River. City officials say they could have a combined potential output of up to 26 million gallons per day.
One field was pumping an average of 4.2 million gallons per day in early March. The other field was recently granted a permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to pull water and began pumping out 4.5 million gallons a day from them as of mid-March.
They’ve sparked backlash from rural Nueces County residents who say water levels at their private wells are dropping. They also worry that discharging salty groundwater into the river will increase its salinity, which will harm water quality.
San Patricio County project: The proposed Evangeline Groundwater Project in neighboring San Patricio County, which could produce an additional 24 million gallons per day by 2028, has been held up by legal and regulatory challenges.
The local groundwater district initially approved the city’s well permits in San Patricio County, but when the city of Sinton and two other parties contested them, the permits were put on hold until there’s an administrative hearing. No date has been set for that hearing, which Corpus Christi officials said could trigger a contested case that delays the project by up to two years.
Despite the uncertainty, city officials voted last week to move ahead with construction despite not having the required permits.
Water experts have said the city can’t rely on groundwater indefinitely because large pumping projects can easily overwhelm aquifers, and they don’t recharge fast enough.
Desalination: Turning seawater into drinking water
In 2017, Corpus Christi proposed an ambitious seawater desalination plant capable of producing 30 million gallons of drinking water per day by 2028. The project was pitched as a “drought-resistant” solution that could supply both residents and the region’s growing industrial base.
But costs ballooned from $760 million to more than $1.2 billion and environmental concerns intensified over the discharge of highly concentrated salty solution into Corpus Christi Bay. Critics warned the process could increase salinity levels and create “dead zones” potentially harming the sensitive, mostly enclosed coastal ecosystem.
In a pivotal vote last year, the City Council scrapped the project — despite securing $757 million in low-interest loans from the state. Now, amid escalating water shortages, officials are reconsidering the plan following sharp criticism from Abbott, who accused the city of failing to act decisively.
“Corpus Christi is a victim not because of lack of water,” Abbott said earlier this month. “They’re a victim because of a lack of ability to make a decision.”
Following the governor’s critiques, Mayor Paulette M. Guajardo called for an emergency April 9 meeting to reconsider the desalination plant.
Two other desalination plants are also in the works: a project near Harbor Island, by the Nueces River Authority that could supply 50 million gallons to the city, with a target operation date of 2029, and another spearheaded by the city with a nearby power plant.
Water reuse
The city is also investing in wastewater recycling. Last year the City Council approved an $11 million agreement with an engineering firm to develop a project that would treat up to 16 million gallons of city wastewater daily to be used by industrial customers, golf courses, parks or other high-volume water users.
Cities such as Fort Worth, El Paso and San Antonio have already implemented similar systems.