A substantially populated coastal Texas city finds itself in a curious predicament: It’s thirsty. Corpus Christi is dealing with the fallout of a drought that has lasted for the better part of seven years, putting local reservoirs at dangerously low levels and forcing many in the area to adapt. 

Just before the weekend, Inside Climate News reported the city of about 325,000 people was prepared to declare a “water emergency.” With that, residents and businesses alike would be required to cut water usage by 25 percent. 

Currently, Corpus Christi residents are in a stage-three water restriction, which means folks can’t water their lawns, must have covers over swimming pools when not in use, and limit car washing to buckets only on a designated water day as assigned by the city.

The emergency plan is reportedly still being ironed out, but folks across the city are questioning how everyone from families to food-and-beverage industry businesses including restaurants, bars and grocery stores would get by. 

For example, Corpus Christi happens to be H-E-B’s bread basket, supplying much of the tortillas and baked goods to its stores across the state. The San Antonio-based grocer is still determining just how much the pending emergency would impact production.

“H-E-B is working closely with the City of Corpus Christi to understand how evolving water conditions may affect our operations,” a company spokesperson told Chron. “We are evaluating potential impacts and will be ready to respond if additional restrictions are implemented.”

Elsewhere, Corpus Christi restaurants had already begun adapting to a life with little water. KIII-TV reported some businesses are serving water to customers only upon request. In the kitchen, some workers are discussing adding foot pedals to shut off water flow to the sinks. 

“So if you don’t want it and you’re getting something else, tea, coffee, and you don’t want water, then there’s no need to give it out because on the back end, on the washing side, there’s a lot that goes into washing a cup even if it wasn’t touched,” Bien Mérité owner Michelle Fraedrick told KIII-TV.

So far, the only real solution to Corpus Christi’s water woes is wetter weather. If absolutely nothing happens and things get drier, there could be rolling water blackouts throughout the city.Â