Corpus Christi\u2019s reported water crisis may not only be an existential threat to the city\u2019s future, but a harbinger for the rest of Texas.<\/p>\n
According to published reports, the city\u2019s water issue has been mismanaged for decades<\/a>, leading the city to where it is today \u2014 on the verge of declaring a water emergency within months, now facing a threat from the governor<\/a> to take control of the city.<\/p>\n Now comes another political wrinkle: A petition to remove Mayor Paulette Guajardo<\/a> for a separate issue.<\/p>\n Kirsten Crow<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity:<\/p>\n Texas Standard: Bottom line here is that there\u2019s been rapid industrialization, an ongoing drought, now reservoirs are at single-digit levels and the curbs on water use aren\u2019t cutting it. <\/p>\n What\u2019s the latest with the water crisis? Has anything changed over the past few days?<\/p>\n Kirsten Crow: Well, some of it has remained the same. Our main reservoirs are below 10%, which is the lowest in history.<\/p>\n The city is currently relying on some other water supplies sources. That\u2019s gonna be Lake Texana and the Colorado River.<\/p>\n And it\u2019s believed that a water emergency, which is basically when the city is within 180 days of our supply not meeting demand, it\u2019s still believed that that may arrive within a few months\u2026 Or I shouldn\u2019t even say \u201ca few months.\u201d Within months.<\/p>\n \u00bb RELATED: Listen back to discussions around water and other topics in our special broadcast from Corpus Christi<\/a><\/p>\n Yeah, I was hearing something like May or June something like that. It could be that that close.<\/p>\n That may not be the case anymore because of the governor\u2019s orders<\/a>. There are some water supply projects coming online sooner than expected and that may change the city\u2019s projections, but there will likely still be projections showing it within months into this year.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s not clear that it would stave off a crisis the size of which Corpus faces. <\/p>\n What is the latest on desalination, by the way? Because that\u2019s been an on-again-off-again conversation.<\/p>\n The status of the Inner Harbor desalination plant is that the City Council is going to be considering a new proposal in April.<\/p>\n