CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (KBTX) – Texas\u2019s eighth-largest city is two months away from a full-blown water emergency. Corpus Christi, home to roughly half a million people, is caught between years of drought that have shrunk its water supply and surging industrial demand that the city can no longer meet.<\/p>\n
Rapid growth and an influx of oil, gas and port industries drove up demand. A large desalination plant promised to close that gap, but it was scrapped when costs became too high. The result: demand now exceeds supply.<\/p>\n
\u201cWater supply has been going down at the same time demand is going up, and things are starting to reach crisis point,\u201d said John Gammon, an atmospheric sciences professor at Texas A&M University.<\/p>\n
Corpus Christi has secured approval to draw more water from a shared reservoir off the Colorado River, is drilling groundwater wells and is piping water from upstream sources. Officials say those steps have bought the city a few more months, but long-term fixes, including a desalination plant, are still years away.<\/p>\n
Gammon said the crisis is a warning for cities statewide: lock in your water supply before promising it to incoming industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s better to make sure you\u2019ve got the supplies lined up before you invite users to come in,\u201d he said. \u201cWater plans go out 50 years into the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Communities like Bryan-College Station have more stability, drawing from the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer rather than drought-vulnerable surface reservoirs, though Gammon warns that the buffer could shrink as more cities tap the same source.<\/p>\n
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