Gov. Greg Abbott steps in with emergency actions to secure Corpus Christi water supply<\/a><\/p>\nCity Manager Randy Wright said the city is facing both an environmental and economic challenge as regional water supplies tighten.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re facing a real crisis \u2014 not only a lack of water, but a potential economic crisis not only for Portland but for the entire region,\u201d Wright said. \u201cWe want to make sure that we have a diversified water source, that we\u2019re not relying on one single source.\u201d<\/p>\n
Portland currently receives its water from the San Patricio Municipal Water District, which purchases water from the city of Corpus Christi. With the possibility of water curtailment looming across the region, Wright said the city is now looking to expand its supply options.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur plan is to create some additional sources that could include not only the city of Corpus Christi, but also the Harbor Island project being developed by the Nueces River Authority,\u201d Wright said. \u201cWe\u2019re also looking at brackish wells that we would run through an RO plant, or basically inland desalination.\u201d<\/p>\n
City leaders are also examining existing models in the region. Portland City Council members are scheduled to tour a $15 million desalination plant in Alice, which is already operational and has helped that city avoid the curtailment concerns facing others.<\/p>\n
Wright said that kind of stability is critical for Portland, which experienced 35% population growth between 2010 and 2020.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe economy here in Portland and the areas around us \u2014 commercial, retail, industrial \u2014 are all part of what makes this region attractive,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to have that water to continue to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the timeline for potential curtailment remains uncertain, Wright said the urgency is clear as water costs continue to rise.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe cost of water is going up, and I think everyone understands that,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat we\u2019re trying to do is make sure at this point, because we\u2019re in a critical shortage, that we have water \u2014 because if you have no water, then it\u2019s priceless.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wright told city council members he expects curtailment could begin sometime this year, with future water rates dependent on decisions by Corpus Christi officials.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Portland officials are exploring desalination and new water sources as growth and looming curtailment raise concerns across the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":212441,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[155,157,156],"class_list":["post-212440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-corpus-christi","tag-corpus-christi","tag-corpus-christi-headlines","tag-corpus-christi-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=212440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212440\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/212441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=212440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=212440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}