(Texas Scorecard) \u2013 As Corpus Christi\u2019s reservoirs plunge to historic lows, city leaders are mired in political infighting over failed desalination plans, accusations of corruption, and mounting pressure from industry giants that say they cannot scale back water usage.<\/p>\n
Corpus Christi is\u00a0currently<\/a>\u00a0in stage 3 water restrictions, with Lake Corpus Christi and Choke Canyon Reservoir at a combined 12 percent storage level.<\/p>\n The next\u00a0stage<\/a>\u00a0of the drought contingency plan, a Level 1 Water Emergency, requires large-volume and industrial users to curtail water consumption.<\/p>\n Bob Paulison, executive director of the Coastal Bend Industry Association, told\u00a0KRIS 6 News\u00a0 that \u201csome plants may have to shut down right away\u201d during a Level 1 Water Emergency. The industrial sector doesn\u2019t \u201chave the ability to scale back\u201d for water restrictions, he continued.<\/p>\n In a\u00a0report<\/a>\u00a0published by the City of Corpus Christi earlier this year, over $57.4 billion has been invested across the metropolitan statistical area in the past decade. The Port of Corpus Christi is the world\u2019s\u00a0third-largest export<\/a>\u00a0port for crude oil and\u00a0contributed<\/a>\u00a0$113 billion to gross domestic product and about 864,000 direct and indirect jobs to the Texas economy in 2024.<\/p>\n On October 3, the Corpus Christi City Council held a\u00a0meeting<\/a>\u00a0to discuss water supply projects.<\/p>\n District 3 Councilman Eric Cantu claimed a former contractor for the Inner Harbor desalination project told him that some past politicians were \u201con the take.\u201d<\/p>\n Cantu then addressed the mayor, \u201cYou were against Inner Harbor when it was $309 million, and now it\u2019s $1.2 billion\u2014and you want us to say yes to that? You said no back then.\u201d<\/p>\n Corpus Christi officially scrapped a contract for the desalination project late last week,\u00a0according<\/a>\u00a0to a local news outlet.<\/p>\n City Manager Peter Zanoni\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0the\u00a0Caller Times\u00a0that city officials submitted a letter to the Texas Water Development Board on Monday, asking if the loans granted for the desalination plant could be repurposed to a different water supply project.<\/p>\n