<\/p>\n
Outside City of Corpus Christi City Hall as seen on Friday, June 28, 2024, at Corpus Christi, Texas.<\/p>\n
Josie Norris\/San Antonio Express-News<\/p>\n
Corpus Christi\u2019s impending water crisis \u2014 and delayed action by city leaders \u2014 has become an issue in the race for Texas governor, with Gov. Greg Abbott<\/a> threatening a state takeover of the city and his Democratic opponent, Gina Hinojosa<\/a>, criticizing his \u201cstrong-arm\u201d approach.<\/p>\n Frustration grew after the Corpus Christi City Council voted last week to again push back a decision<\/a> on building an almost billion-dollar water treatment plant, even as projections show the coastal community facing mandatory water restrictions in early 2027<\/a>.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n After the vote, the governor\u2019s office didn\u2019t hold back.<\/p>\n \u201cThe moment for leadership arrived, but the Council met it with a whimper and a complaint,\u201d said Robert Black, Abbott\u2019s chief of staff.<\/p>\n Instead of taking \u201cmeaningful steps to meet the long-term water needs of their citizens,\u201d council members \u201cchose to bicker, blame, and hide behind excuses and \u2018studies\u2019 rather than take action,\u201d Black said in a statement.<\/p>\n Black underscored the governor\u2019s frustration with city leaders. In March, when water levels in two of the city\u2019s main reservoirs fell to historic lows<\/a>, Abbott said: \u201cCorpus Christi is a victim not because of lack of water. They\u2019re a victim because of a lack of ability to make a decision.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Abbott threatened a state takeover<\/a> if Corpus Christi, the state\u2019s eighth-largest city, couldn\u2019t get its act together. \u201cWe can only give them a little time more before the state of Texas has to take over and micromanage that city and run that city,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Hinojosa criticized Abbott\u2019s rigid approach.<\/p>\n “Let’s be clear: this is not just a city issue, this is a crisis that requires a governor who shows up as a partner with local communities \u2014 bringing together state and federal resources to get this right \u2014 not someone who threatens to cut off funding unless a city does exactly what his insiders want,\u201d Hinojosa said last week.<\/p>\n Asked what she would do differently, Hinojosa told The Texas Tribune she would seek to regulate industrial use.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cAs Governor, I\u2019d sign an executive order to ensure citizens of Corpus have the water they need by making industry cut back when water is at risk and pay to fund solutions so we never wind up here again,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Hinojosa, an Austin state representative, accused Abbott of prioritizing Corpus Christi\u2019s industrial sector over residents. The city\u2019s large-volume customers consume more than half of the city\u2019s water supply, including Valero Energy Corp.<\/a> and ExxonMobil<\/a> (both have donated to Abbott\u2019s campaign, $25,000 this year from Valero and $15,000 from Exxon in 2024).<\/p>\n \u201cIndustry guzzles two-thirds of the water and needs to pay its fair share,\u201d Hinojosa said last week in a statement. \u201cInstead, Abbott wanted the citizens to pay so his donors could keep getting water cheap.\u201d<\/p>\n Over the past decade, the city promised a sufficient water supply as it courted large companies to build refineries, natural gas export terminals and other industrial facilities along Corpus Christi Bay.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The City Council in September halted efforts to build a $1.2 billion desalination plant \u2014 capable of treating around 30 million gallons of seawater a day beginning in 2029 \u2014 citing concerns about the cost and environmental impact from salty discharge into the bay.<\/p>\n But a historic drought and rising demand has placed the city on the path<\/a> of reaching, by early 2027, a Level 1 emergency \u2014 the point when supply is six months from falling short of demand, triggering mandatory restrictions. The city water department recently asked the City Council to reconsider the Inner Harbor desalination project, now with a whittled-down $978.8 million price tag.<\/p>\n After a marathon 15-hour meeting last week, the council voted 7-2 to delay a decision until Sept. 1. Most of the more than 100 community members who spoke during the meeting opposed the project. Some doubted an environmental study that concluded the plant\u2019s discharge wouldn\u2019t affect the bay\u2019s sea life.<\/p>\n But project supporters, saying the city\u2019s livelihood is on the line, view a desalination plant as a drought-proof solution to future dry spells. The water department\u2019s proposal is fully permitted and about 60% designed.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Corpus Christi received a $2.75 million loan from the state in 2017 for the project\u2019s initial stages. In 2020, the state provided $222 million more in loans for the plant, and two years later, another $535 million, of which $10 million has been disbursed.<\/p>\n \u201cGovernor Abbott and the State of Texas have done their part,\u201d his chief of staff Black said. \u201cWe have expedited funding and permits for new wells, paid for pipeline upgrades, fully permitted the Inner Harbor Plant, and provided more than $800 million in funding for water projects.\u201d<\/p>\n Hinojosa said the governor has fallen short of addressing the expected shortage.<\/p>\n \u201cFor more than a decade, Abbott has traveled to Corpus Christi for photo ops and ribbon-cutting ceremonies while failing to solve the impending crisis,\u201d she said. \u201cThe people of Corpus Christi deserve leadership, and as governor, I’ll deliver it.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Council Member Gil Hernandez, who made the motion to delay consideration of the desalination plant until September, said there is no rush to make a final decision on a project that would take about three years to build.<\/p>\n \u201cIt does us no good in this water crisis that we\u2019re in right now,\u201d Hernandez said. \u201cThat desal plant is not an emergency decision.\u201d<\/p>\n The city has taken other action to find short-term water sources, he said, including more than a dozen wells drilled in Nueces County as part of the Evangeline Groundwater Project. The city hopes to drill nearly a dozen additional wells in Sinton, about a 30-minute drive north of Corpus Christi. That project, however, has been delayed by objections<\/a> by the city of Sinton and other water users who say the effort threatens their underground water supplies.<\/p>\n \u201cWe made the decisions to get us water quickly through those other projects, and that’s going to meet our needs,\u201d Hernandez said. \u201cDesal really is a long-term play for us.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Mayor Paulette Guajardo said that the governor\u2019s position supports her intent to move forward on the Inner Harbor project.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Governor\u2019s Office has made it clear: Corpus Christi cannot afford endless delays when it comes to securing our water supply,\u201d she wrote on Facebook<\/a>. \u201cThat is why I voted against tabling the Inner Harbor Seawater Desalination Project. \u2026 Leadership is not about finding excuses to postpone difficult decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n City Manager Peter Zanoni said he appreciates the governor\u2019s efforts to help Corpus Christi survive the drought, such as allowing the city to pull around 40 million gallons of water a day from Lake Texana<\/a> even if levels fall below 50% \u2014 a situation that normally triggers an automatic 10% reduction in pumping. The city has not yet had to curtail pumping because recent rain brought the reservoir to nearly full capacity.<\/p>\n Zanoni added that the water department has been working with the governor\u2019s office several times a week to discuss future water projects.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cHe has been a leader in helping us bring on numerous water supply projects,\u201d Zanoni said. \u201cThe governor is one who likes certainty and predictability, and likes to make decisions, and so I would leave it at that.\u201d<\/p>\n Disclosure: Facebook and Valero have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete\u00a0list of them here<\/a>.<\/p>\n This article<\/a> first appeared on The Texas Tribune<\/a>. Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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