Corpus Christi’s reported water crisis may not only be an existential threat to the city’s future, but a harbinger for the rest of Texas.
According to published reports, the city’s water issue has been mismanaged for decades, leading the city to where it is today — on the verge of declaring a water emergency within months, now facing a threat from the governor to take control of the city.
Now comes another political wrinkle: A petition to remove Mayor Paulette Guajardo for a separate issue.
Kirsten Crow, who reports for the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, joined Texas Standard to discuss. Listen to the interview in the player above or read the transcript below.
This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity:
Texas Standard: Bottom line here is that there’s been rapid industrialization, an ongoing drought, now reservoirs are at single-digit levels and the curbs on water use aren’t cutting it.
What’s the latest with the water crisis? Has anything changed over the past few days?
Kirsten Crow: Well, some of it has remained the same. Our main reservoirs are below 10%, which is the lowest in history.
The city is currently relying on some other water supplies sources. That’s gonna be Lake Texana and the Colorado River.
And it’s believed that a water emergency, which is basically when the city is within 180 days of our supply not meeting demand, it’s still believed that that may arrive within a few months… Or I shouldn’t even say “a few months.” Within months.
Yeah, I was hearing something like May or June something like that. It could be that that close.
That may not be the case anymore because of the governor’s orders. There are some water supply projects coming online sooner than expected and that may change the city’s projections, but there will likely still be projections showing it within months into this year.
Of course, Corpus Christi does not have a desalination plant, a city desalination plant, and that has been the focus of a lot of attention. Even if one were to somehow magically come online tomorrow, it’s not clear that it would stave off a crisis the size of which Corpus faces.
What is the latest on desalination, by the way? Because that’s been an on-again-off-again conversation.
The status of the Inner Harbor desalination plant is that the City Council is going to be considering a new proposal in April.
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Isn’t there some talk about trying to buy a commercial desalination plant from a company called Corpus Christi Polymers?
That is correct. There were talks last year that the city might purchase this desalination plant at Corpus Christi Polymers. However, that was taken off the table and now there is a proposal to purchase desalinated water from that plant.
Through a third party, as I understand it, right?
Correct. It would be a third party who is handling negotiations between Corpus Christi Polymers and the City of Corpus Christi.
Any other possible solutions on the table right now being actively pursued?
The biggest projects that the city is pursuing right now is groundwater or related to groundwater. And currently there are two well fields that are operating and there are two under development.
It’s my understanding that there’s a lot of concern that the city may be distracted by a political, what is it, a removal petition against the mayor? Is that related to the water crisis or just a completely different thing?
Technically, the petition is accusing the mayor of malfeasance or misconduct related to a controversy on tax incentives for development of a downtown hotel. She has denied the allegations in this petition.
And while the petition doesn’t mention any of the water supply projects or desalination, there are residents and council members who feel that there is a connection to that.