City conservation program is out of stock, with restock expected May 8 as residents weigh cost and supply concerns.<\/p>\n
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas \u2014 As the region moves closer to a possible 25% water curtailment, the city\u2019s rain barrel program has already sold out, leaving residents divided over cost and availability.<\/p>\n
The city sold 55-gallon barrels for $50.88 each through Corpus Christi Water (CCW), with proceeds directed toward the utility’s conservation projects. Within days, the entire inventory was exhausted.<\/p>\n
“Well here it is: it’s $50.88 for a plastic barrel. I, to tell you the truth, I think it’s a little high \u2014 but it’s a good idea to catch what little rain we get,” said Daniel Smith, a Corpus Christi resident.<\/p>\n
Esteban Ramos, CCW Water Resource Manager Esteban Ramos, confirmed the sell-out and said additional stock is on the way.<\/p>\n
“We have sold out just recently today. We’re going to have additional rain barrels come in, probably towards the end of next week, around the eighth,” Ramos said.<\/p>\n
Ramos defended the city’s pricing, noting the barrels are significantly cheaper than comparable products at retail stores.<\/p>\n
“That is a significantly lower cost than an individual going to, say, Home Depot, where an average cost for a rain barrel is approximately $120,” Ramos said.<\/p>\n
The program is designed to help residents prepare ahead of a potential Stage 1 water emergency declaration. Ramos said the barrels give households a backup supply for non-potable uses such as watering plants or other outdoor activities.<\/p>\n
“This is a good opportunity \u2014 if a Level 1 water emergency were to be triggered \u2014 that they would be prepared to have extra water that they could use for watering their plants in a pot or for other activities,” Ramos said.<\/p>\n
Smith, despite his reservations about the price, said he ultimately supports the pay-to-participate model, arguing that free distribution would have undercut the program’s effectiveness.<\/p>\n
“I don’t think people would’ve used them. You got to pay for what you get, I think,” Smith said.<\/p>\n
Questions have emerged from some residents about why barrels aren’t being distributed at no cost.\u00a0<\/p>\n
City officials have not addressed those calls directly, but maintain the current pricing structure helps subsidize conservation efforts.<\/p>\n
Residents are reminded that water collected in rain barrels is for non-potable use only and should not be consumed or used for cooking.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The next shipment is expected to arrive around May 8. Residents can contact Corpus Christi Water for availability updates.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"City conservation program is out of stock, with restock expected May 8 as residents weigh cost and supply…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":273467,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[155,157,156],"class_list":["post-273466","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\/273466","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=273466"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273466\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/273467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=273466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=273466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=273466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}