{"id":271869,"date":"2026-04-29T21:06:21","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T21:06:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/271869\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T21:06:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T21:06:21","slug":"higher-ed-leaders-in-corpus-christi-consider-how-to-reduce-water-usage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/271869\/","title":{"rendered":"Higher ed leaders in Corpus Christi consider how to reduce water usage"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the city of Corpus Christi\u00a0eyes a potential water emergency<\/a>, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and\u00a0Del Mar College are looking into ways to reduce usage\u00a0and decrease reliance on the city\u2019s\u00a0freshwater\u00a0supply.<\/p>\n

Solutions at Del Mar College range from an effort to connect the Oso Creek campus to an effluent water line\u00a0with the aim of using reclaimed water for irrigation and air conditioning chillers\u00a0\u2014 a project that is already in the works \u2014 to exploring the possibility of a water well at the Windward campus. This second idea has only recently\u00a0emerged.<\/p>\n

A&M-Corpus Christi has already implemented some water-saving methods, including an effluent water system for irrigating athletic fields, and it has hired an engineering consultant to assess potential groundwater supply options, according to an April 9 email sent to students.<\/p>\n

A&M-Corpus Christi<\/p>\n

Efforts already completed to reduce water use include adjustments to toilets, sinks and showerheads throughout the campus and in housing units, the email said.<\/p>\n

The university is continuing to identify and implement other conservation measures, including recalibrating automatic sensor faucets across campus.<\/p>\n

The engineering consultant, Freese and Nichols Inc., is assessing the feasibility of developing groundwater as a public water supply, treatment required for brackish groundwater, possible risks and costs, the email said.<\/p>\n

The firm is exploring other alternative water sources, including atmospheric harvesting, use of reclaimed water from the Oso Wastewater Treatment Plant and use of campus effluent.<\/p>\n

University leaders have met and will continue to meet with a range of city and state officials to address the crisis, the email said.<\/p>\n

Del Mar College<\/p>\n

The Del Mar College Board of Regents discussed water reduction efforts on April 7.\u00a0College staff met with representatives from the city\u2019s Office of Emergency Management on March 30.<\/p>\n

President Mark Escamilla said that staff will be returning to the board in future meetings for updates and approvals related to the measures discussed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the beginning of a broad conversation, and an ongoing conversation,\u201d Escamilla said. \u201cDroughts, unfortunately, will recur.\u201d<\/p>\n

Connecting Oso Creek to receive reclaimed water from Corpus Christi Water would cost about $1.5 million, Escamilla said.<\/p>\n

\"Water<\/p>\n

Water was low in Del Mar College’s Oso Creek campus retaining pond on April 7, 2026.<\/p>\n

However, reclaimed water would\u00a0likely be\u00a0cheaper,\u00a0particularly if water rates increase\u00a0as a result of\u00a0the city\u2019s efforts to invest in new water sources, regent David Loeb said.<\/p>\n

The college already has low-flow\u00a0fixtures\u00a0and automatic detection faucets installed in most restrooms. It\u00a0carefully\u00a0monitors\u00a0HVAC systems to\u00a0optimize\u00a0chilled water use and\u00a0identifies\u00a0and repairs leaks, according to the presentation to the board.<\/p>\n

The college restricts exterior power-washing\u00a0and\u00a0does not allow irrigation, per\u00a0city\u00a0requirements. The college has embarked on\u00a0\u201cxeriscaping,\u201d\u00a0including removing grass and focusing on drought-tolerant plants.<\/p>\n

Looking forward, the college is working with Corpus Christi Water to extend an effluent water line to the Oso Creek campus. Effluent water would\u00a0be used\u00a0for air conditioning system needs and for irrigation.<\/p>\n

But beyond that, the college is also considering other options.\u00a0In addition to investigating water well potential at the Windward campus, the college has renewed discussions of\u00a0acquiring\u00a0effluent for this campus, though\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0unclear whether groundwater would be suitable or what the city\u2019s capacity for sharing reclaimed water would be for that campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re just starting to explore,\u201d\u00a0Tammy McDonald, vice president of administration and human resources, told the Caller-Times.\u00a0\u201cWe just put everything on the table.\u201d<\/p>\n

The college is looking at \u201cevery\u00a0option\u00a0that could be available,\u201d McDonald said.<\/p>\n

In the event of\u00a0a water emergency, college staff proposed placing limitations or restrictions on campus events,\u00a0adjusting thermostat temperatures to reduce chilled water\u00a0usage\u00a0and\u00a0modifying\u00a0operational schedules.<\/p>\n

For critical emergency needs, the college could\u00a0also\u00a0bring in\u00a0water tankers.<\/p>\n

Other ideas include\u00a0capturing and reusing condensation from air handler units and other options involving reclaimed water.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have the capability to make changes to free up water for other users who maybe are not capable of making the changes,\u201d Loeb said. \u201cWe need to do the responsible thing and go forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Corpus Christi colleges explore reclaimed water, wells amid crisis<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As the city of Corpus Christi\u00a0eyes a potential water emergency, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and\u00a0Del Mar College are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":271870,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[6179,155,157,156,7103,101073,101074,101072,9872,2646],"class_list":["post-271869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-corpus-christi","tag-chilled-water","tag-corpus-christi","tag-corpus-christi-headlines","tag-corpus-christi-news","tag-del-mar-college","tag-effluent-water","tag-effluent-water-line","tag-reclaimed-water","tag-water-emergency","tag-water-supply"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271869","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=271869"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271869\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/271870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=271869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=271869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=271869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}