{"id":223403,"date":"2026-03-08T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/?p=223403"},"modified":"2026-03-09T14:14:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T19:14:00","slug":"texas-corpus-christi-water-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2026\/03\/08\/texas-corpus-christi-water-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"After a decade of missteps, Corpus Christi careens toward water catastrophe"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-custom-everlit-iframe-embed\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Everlit Audio Player\" src=\"https:\/\/everlit.audio\/embeds\/artl_mabyJHw1w9K?ui_cover_art=false&amp;ui_title_intro=Listen+to+this+article&amp;ui_title_icon=headphones&amp;client=wp&amp;client_version=3.0.3\" width=\"100%\" height=\"130px\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><style>.wp-block-custom-everlit-iframe-embed { margin: 0 !important; }<\/style><div class=\"everlit-disclaimer\" style=\"margin: 0;\"><div style=\"margin-top: -0.5rem;font-size: 0.7rem;color: #4a4a4a;font-family: Open Sans, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif\">Audio recording is automated for accessibility. Humans wrote and edited the story. See our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/about\/ethics\/#ai-policy\">AI policy<\/a>, and give us <a href=\"https:\/\/airtable.com\/appFeleeKVUN0Iytx\/pagPG40gbkU0EfjIr\/form\">feedback<\/a>.<\/div><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>This story is published in partnership with <a href=\"https:\/\/insideclimatenews.org\/\">Inside Climate News<\/a>, a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for the ICN newsletter <a href=\"https:\/\/insideclimatenews.org\/newsletter\/\">here.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>CORPUS CHRISTI \u2014 The imminent depletion of water supplies in Corpus Christi threatens to cut off the flow of jet fuel to Texas airports and other oil exports from one of the nation\u2019s largest petroleum ports, triggering potential shockwaves through energy markets in Texas and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Without significant rainfall, Corpus Christi is headed for a \u201cwater emergency\u201d within months and will reach a point next year where city supply can no longer meet demand, according to the city\u2019s website. At that critical point, the city would be unable to deliver water to its customers \u2014 a potential catastrophe for Corpus Christi and beyond, experts and people knowledgable about the city\u2019s water system say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe impacts are going to be felt tremendously through the state, if not internationally,\u201d said Sean Strawbridge, former CEO of the Port of Corpus Christi Authority, the nation\u2019s top port for crude oil exports, in a 40-minute interview Thursday. \u201cThis should be no surprise to anybody. We were talking about this over a decade ago.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other current and former officials, alarmed at what they call a lack of preparations, have suggested the potential for an economic crisis involving mass layoffs, disruption of fuel supplies and billions of dollars in emergency spending to avoid an evacuation of the city. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Strawbridge, who now lives in Houston, laid the blame on city leaders, citing \u201ctheir lack of experience, their lack of knowledge, their lack of recognizing the risks\u201d in a bumbling, decade-long endeavor to build a large seawater desalination plant that would veer the region off its clear course toward calamity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019ve found themselves in quite a dire predicament as a result of those poor decisions,\u201d Strawbridge said. \u201cTime is up.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A spokesperson for Corpus Christi Mayor Paulette Guajardo declined interview requests, citing \u201cprior commitments,\u201d and did not respond to follow-up questions. City manager Peter Zanoni also did not respond to questions. Instead, Corpus Christi public information manager Robert Gonzales provided an emailed statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe water shortage in the Coastal Bend is the result of a historic five-year drought,\u201d it said. \u201cCurrently, the City of Corpus Christi has $1 billion in City Council-approved and funded water projects underway to address our water needs. The City remains committed to ensuring water security for the more than 500,000 residents and our commercial and industrial customers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In an emailed statement on Monday, Gonzales called this story \u201can incomplete and alarmist narrative.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Depletion of this region\u2019s reservoirs would lead to \u201ccontrolled depression\u201d for the local economy, \u201cmass unemployment\u201d and \u201cindustrial total shutdown,\u201d according to a two-page report by Don Roach, former assistant general manager of the San Patricio Municipal Water District, which supplies many of the region\u2019s large industrial water users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That includes refineries operated by Flint Hills Resources, Valero and Citgo that provide jet fuel to Texas airports and meet much of the state\u2019s daily demand for gasoline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis waiting disaster is under the radar for the rest of the state,\u201d said Roach, who worked 20 years at the water district and retired in 2014. \u201cWe hear nothing from the Texas politicians about the seriousness of the situation or any state plan to mitigate it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He no longer had access to current water data and contracts, he stressed, but produced the report based on his own knowledge. It said the costs of trucking in emergency water \u201cwould bankrupt many local small businesses and low-income households\u201d while state emergency managers would need billions of dollars to \u201cbuild emergency temporary pipelines or subsidize desalination barge rentals to prevent a total evacuation of the city.\u201d\n\nStrawbridge, a former director of the Port of Long Beach, said Roach\u2019s assessment was \u201cspot on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kara Rivas, a spokesperson for Flint Hills Resources, which delivers jet fuel via pipeline from its Corpus Christi refinery to airports in Dallas and Austin, said, \u201cWe are doing everything we can to minimize our water use and diversify our water resources to avoid disrupting our operations.\u201d<br><br>Flint Hills is developing a project to use treated effluent from a wastewater treatment plant to meet up to 15 percent of its water demand. The refinery consumes about 0.55 barrels of water per barrel of crude oil, Rivas said, a 29 percent reduction since 2010.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe are focused on working with local authorities on finding ways to meet the region\u2019s immediate and long-term water needs,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is a challenge that requires leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1706\" data-attachment-id=\"223408\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2026\/03\/08\/texas-corpus-christi-water-crisis\/20260303-corpus-water-crisis-icn-bd-01\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260303-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-01.jpg?fit=2560%2C1706&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1706\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta='{\"aperture\":\"11\",\"credit\":\"Dylan Baddour\/Inside Climate News\",\"camera\":\"Canon EOS 5D Mark III\",\"caption\":\"The city of Corpus Christi, on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, faces an imminent water crisis after a decades of city government failures.\",\"created_timestamp\":\"1772585939\",\"copyright\":\"\",\"focal_length\":\"108\",\"iso\":\"640\",\"shutter_speed\":\"0.003125\",\"title\":\"\",\"orientation\":\"0\"}' data-image-title=\"20260303 CORPUS WATER CRISIS ICN BD 01\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;The city of Corpus Christi, on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, faces an imminent water crisis after a decades of city government failures.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260303-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-01.jpg?fit=300%2C200&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260303-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-01.jpg?fit=1024%2C682&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260303-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-01.jpg?resize=2560%2C1706&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-223408\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260303-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-01.jpg?w=2560&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 2560w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260303-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-01.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260303-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-01.jpg?resize=1024%2C682&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260303-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-01.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260303-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-01.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260303-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-01.jpg?resize=2048%2C1365&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260303-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-01.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260303-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-01.jpg?resize=2000%2C1333&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260303-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-01.jpg?resize=780%2C520&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 780w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260303-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-01.jpg?resize=800%2C533&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260303-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-01.jpg?resize=400%2C267&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260303-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-01.jpg?w=370&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Corpus Christi faces an imminent water crisis after a decade of city government failures, according to several former officials. <span class=\"image-credit\">Dylan Baddour\/Inside Climate News<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>\u201cNo time to panic\u201d<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Zanoni, the city manager who has overseen Corpus Christi\u2019s descent toward water depletion since 2019 and receives a $400,000 salary, rejected notions of imminent disaster during a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=xk78_9qLnaY\">press conference<\/a> Thursday, when Lake Corpus Christi, one of the city\u2019s main reservoirs, dropped below 10%.  The press conference took place three days after Inside Climate News asked the city for comment about the impending water crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI think we are going to get through this,\u201d he told TV cameras as he stood before the dwindling remnants of the lake. \u201cWe have confidence in what we\u2019re doing. This is no time to panic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Zanoni, who holds a master\u2019s of public administration from Florida State University, said the city had \u201cworked tirelessly over the past months to bring everything that we humanly and possibly could to forgo what could be this supply and demand issue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cNow we\u2019re going to focus, with the city council and the region, on being prepared in case supply doesn\u2019t meet demand,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe best-case scenario, that assumes some level of rain, has this lake here going to about the early fall,\u201d said Zanoni, who indicated that the summer months would give the city enough time to boot up its portfolio of new groundwater water projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1446\" data-attachment-id=\"223409\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2026\/03\/08\/texas-corpus-christi-water-crisis\/20260307-corpus-water-crisis-icn-bd-07\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260307-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-07.jpg?fit=2560%2C1446&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1446\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta='{\"aperture\":\"0\",\"credit\":\"\",\"camera\":\"\",\"caption\":\"City Manager Peter Zanoni, at a press conference on March 5, 2026, when Lake Corpus Christi, one of the city\\u2019s main reservoirs, dropped below 10 percent.\",\"created_timestamp\":\"1772895708\",\"copyright\":\"\",\"focal_length\":\"0\",\"iso\":\"0\",\"shutter_speed\":\"0\",\"title\":\"\",\"orientation\":\"1\"}' data-image-title=\"20260307 CORPUS WATER CRISIS ICN BD 07\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;City Manager Peter Zanoni, at a press conference on March 5, 2026, when Lake Corpus Christi, one of the city\u2019s main reservoirs, dropped below 10 percent.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260307-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-07.jpg?fit=300%2C169&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260307-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-07.jpg?fit=1024%2C578&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260307-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-07.jpg?resize=2560%2C1446&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-223409\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260307-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-07.jpg?w=2560&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 2560w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260307-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-07.jpg?resize=300%2C169&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260307-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-07.jpg?resize=1024%2C578&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260307-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-07.jpg?resize=768%2C434&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260307-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-07.jpg?resize=1536%2C868&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260307-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-07.jpg?resize=2048%2C1157&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260307-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-07.jpg?resize=1200%2C678&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260307-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-07.jpg?resize=2000%2C1130&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260307-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-07.jpg?resize=780%2C441&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 780w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260307-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-07.jpg?resize=800%2C452&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260307-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-07.jpg?resize=400%2C226&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260307-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-07.jpg?w=370&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Corpus Christi City Manager Peter Zanoni at a press conference on March 5, 2026, when Lake Corpus Christi, one of the city\u2019s main reservoirs, dropped below 10% full.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>James Dodson, a former director of Corpus Christi\u2019s water department who retired this year as a private consultant and was involved in several of those projects, disagreed. He said residents and officials \u201care crazy not to be panicking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s the very worst scenario that I\u2019ve ever seen,\u201d said Dodson, who oversaw a historic expansion of Corpus Christi\u2019s water supply in the 1990s. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be an economic disaster.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For years, he said, the city dismissed repeated opportunities to develop groundwater import projects as it maintained a singular and fruitless focus on desalination. That includes projects that the city only recently scrambled to get started. Dodson doubted any will materialize in time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019ve been kicking the can down the road for a long time and they\u2019ve finally run out of road,\u201d said a current regional water official who requested anonymity to preserve a working relationship with the city. \u201cThey\u2019re looking at projects to do that they should have done five, six, seven years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The last hope to avert disaster, the official said, was a 20- to 30-inch rainfall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt would basically have to be a hurricane,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A spokesperson for Texas <a href=\"https:\/\/directory.texastribune.org\/greg-abbott\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/directory.texastribune.org\/greg-abbott\/\">Gov. Greg Abbott<\/a>, Andrew Mahaleris, didn\u2019t address specific comments about an impending water catastrophe or disruption of the state economy. In an emailed statement, he said: \u201cCorpus Christi is an important economic driver not only for Texas but also the nation. The State of Texas has made significant investments into ensuring the Corpus Christi area has the water resources it needs to serve citizens and industry alike.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He added that the governor \u201cwill continue working with the legislature to ensure Texans have a safe, reliable water supply for the next fifty years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say that it\u2019s a disaster\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Mere months remain, according to Corpus Christi\u2019s online <a href=\"https:\/\/www.corpuschristitx.gov\/department-directory\/corpus-christi-water\/water-supply-dashboard-english\/\">water dashboard<\/a>, until the city enters a \u201cLevel 1 Emergency,\u201d which begins 180 days from projected depletion of water supplies. Functional failure of the water system, or \u201cdead pool,\u201d will occur before total depletion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a level one water emergency, the city\u2019s plans call for an immediate 25% curtailment of water consumption. But city planners are only beginning to discuss what that would even look like and still haven\u2019t determined how they would implement it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe can\u2019t close and open everyone\u2019s valves,\u201d said Nick Winkelmann, chief operating officer of Corpus Christi Water, in an interview at city hall last week. \u201cOne way to enact water restrictions is through pricing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The region\u2019s largest industrial users, which collectively consume the majority of the region\u2019s water, remain exempt from emergency curtailment. These multi-billion-dollar refineries, petrochemical plants and liquified natural gas facilities are built to run at a steady rate and can\u2019t simply throttle down production in accordance with water availability. They consume large volumes of water primarily in cooling towers to prevent excessive heating and explosions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1706\" data-attachment-id=\"223410\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2026\/03\/08\/texas-corpus-christi-water-crisis\/20260304-corpus-water-crisis-icn-bd-05\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-05.jpg?fit=2560%2C1706&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1706\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta='{\"aperture\":\"13\",\"credit\":\"Dylan Baddour\/Inside Climate News\",\"camera\":\"Canon EOS 5D Mark III\",\"caption\":\"Gulf Coast Growth Ventures, a plastics production facility operated by Exxon Mobil and Saudi Arabia, started operations in 2022 and is the largest water consumer in the Corpus Christi region.\",\"created_timestamp\":\"1772670485\",\"copyright\":\"\",\"focal_length\":\"90\",\"iso\":\"400\",\"shutter_speed\":\"0.0015625\",\"title\":\"\",\"orientation\":\"0\"}' data-image-title=\"20260304 CORPUS WATER CRISIS ICN BD 05\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Gulf Coast Growth Ventures, a plastics production facility operated by Exxon Mobil and Saudi Arabia, started operations in 2022 and is the largest water consumer in the Corpus Christi region.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-05.jpg?fit=300%2C200&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-05.jpg?fit=1024%2C682&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-05.jpg?resize=2560%2C1706&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-223410\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-05.jpg?w=2560&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 2560w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-05.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-05.jpg?resize=1024%2C682&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-05.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-05.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-05.jpg?resize=2048%2C1365&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-05.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-05.jpg?resize=2000%2C1333&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-05.jpg?resize=780%2C520&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 780w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-05.jpg?resize=800%2C533&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-05.jpg?resize=400%2C267&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-05.jpg?w=370&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Gulf Coast Growth Ventures, a plastics production facility operated by Exxon Mobil and Saudi Arabia\u2019s national oil company, started operations in 2022 and is the largest water consumer in the Corpus Christi region. <span class=\"image-credit\">Dylan Baddour\/Inside Climate News<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The city also may enact across-the-board, pro-rata curtailment at will, said Winkelmann, who assumed his role last September when the city\u2019s former water director, Drew Molly, resigned days before the city council pulled the plug on its long-running desalination project. \u201cThat will have an effect on all our customers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For years, local business leaders insisted desalination was Corpus Christi\u2019s key to overcoming the water limitations that had historically plagued it on this semi-arid coastline. Massive desalination plants, the first of their kind in Texas, were supposed to kick off an era of abundant water, financial prosperity and limitless economic expansion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead, the plan drove this region to the precipice of ruin.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt has not gone as smoothly as it should have,\u201d said Bob Paulison, director of the Coastal Bend Industries Association and an architect of the desalination project. \u201cThere are a lot of reasons for why that happened.\u201d He said he worked on desalination for 12 years, but the projects got bogged down by political fights, administrative processes, the COVID pandemic and \u201ca tug of war which has resulted in very slow progress.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say that it\u2019s a disaster,\u201d he said of the current situation, expressing faith that the city would complete new water projects before supplies run out. It was \u201ctoo early\u201d to assess when that could happen, he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Presented with Roach\u2019s report, Paulison expressed a longstanding respect for the veteran water manager but said, \u201cIt looks like it\u2019s very dire, more dire than we\u2019ve been looking at.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re relying on the model that the city has put together,\u201d Paulison said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\nRegarding a potential shutdown of the entire refining and petrochemical complex, he said, \u201cthat could certainly shut down at some point, but we don\u2019t see that happening in the early stages.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Asked about plans to develop alternative jet fuel supplies for Texas airports in the case of a shutdown, Paulison said, \u201cI\u2019m sure that someone somewhere is working on that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\nCharles McConnell, a former assistant energy secretary with the Obama administration, wondered why concrete plans hadn\u2019t been prepared. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cDid it take them all the way to yesterday to figure out they\u2019re going to run out by the end of the year?\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s pretty pathetic.\u201d\n\nMcConnell, who now teaches at the University of Houston, doubted that a shutdown of Corpus Christi\u2019s industrial sector would have acute or long-lasting impacts beyond Texas. New producers would fill the gap, while new pipelines and supply chains would bypass the city. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a surprise to me that none of those refineries and industries down there have their own desal plants,\u201d said McConnell, who worked 31 years for the chemical manufacturer Praxair in Houston. \u201cThey\u2019re using municipal water, for Christ\u2019s sake!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1706\" data-attachment-id=\"223411\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2026\/03\/08\/texas-corpus-christi-water-crisis\/20260304-corpus-water-crisis-icn-bd-02\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-02.jpg?fit=2560%2C1706&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1706\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta='{\"aperture\":\"11\",\"credit\":\"Dylan Baddour\/Inside Climate News\",\"camera\":\"Canon EOS 5D Mark III\",\"caption\":\"An ArcelorMittal iron ore plant smokes behind a playground at Simpson Park in Portland, Texas, on March 4, 2026.\",\"created_timestamp\":\"1772634971\",\"copyright\":\"\",\"focal_length\":\"170\",\"iso\":\"400\",\"shutter_speed\":\"0.0004\",\"title\":\"\",\"orientation\":\"0\"}' data-image-title=\"20260304 CORPUS WATER CRISIS ICN BD 02\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;An ArcelorMittal iron ore plant smokes behind a playground at Simpson Park in Portland, Texas, on March 4, 2026.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-02.jpg?fit=300%2C200&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-02.jpg?fit=1024%2C682&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-02.jpg?resize=2560%2C1706&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-223411\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-02.jpg?w=2560&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 2560w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-02.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-02.jpg?resize=1024%2C682&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-02.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-02.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-02.jpg?resize=2048%2C1365&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-02.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-02.jpg?resize=2000%2C1333&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-02.jpg?resize=780%2C520&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 780w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-02.jpg?resize=800%2C533&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-02.jpg?resize=400%2C267&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-02.jpg?w=370&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An iron ore plant behind a playground at Simpson Park in Portland, near Corpus Christi, on March 4, 2026. <span class=\"image-credit\">Dylan Baddour\/Inside Climate News<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Rapid expansion followed the shale boom<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The roots of this situation stretch back more than a decade, to the period of rapid downstream industrial expansion that followed the shale revolution in the oilfields of Texas. Strawbridge joined the Port of Corpus Christi Authority in 2015, as a surge of major industrial projects sought to build in the area. Even then, Strawbridge said, everyone knew Corpus Christi needed more water. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In January 2016, Abbott <a href=\"https:\/\/gov.texas.gov\/news\/post\/governor_abbott_attends_luncheon_with_israeli_business_leaders\">traveled to Israel,<\/a> where he toured the world\u2019s largest seawater desalination plant and met with Israeli officials to discuss desalination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Later that year, an industry group called H2O4Texas, with <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/presentation\/d\/1lceStZIe-bDyN7P0PfWtZju_fnh7A0D2\/edit?usp=sharing&amp;ouid=115167961506787936390&amp;rtpof=true&amp;sd=true\">sponsors<\/a> including Dow, Chevron and Marathon Oil, hosted <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2016\/07\/12\/event-texas-water-tour-corpus-christi\/\">an event<\/a> in Corpus Christi. \n\n\u201cThey were basically saying because of the growth in the Coastal Bend, we were gonna need desalination,\u201d said Isabel Araiza, then a professor at Texas A&amp;M University-Corpus Christi, who attended the event. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That was the first that Araiza, a Corpus Christi native with a Ph.D. from Boston University, had heard of desalination. She said she was at the meeting for a different reason, finding it strange how many business and political leaders were there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The oil and gas industry wanted to build enormous projects in the region, processing oil and gas from Texas\u2019 shale fields into myriad fuels, chemicals and plastics before loading them onto tankers for export. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In March 2017, then-city manager Margie Rose sent <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/13FYYsvgvbu7-zMfImnNFYPKs42QZ_72o\/view?usp=sharing\">a letter<\/a> to ExxonMobil, the world\u2019s largest private oil company, that said, \u201cbecause the City aggressively protects water resources for the future by implementing a matrix of supply strategies, we feel that we have sufficient water supplies to meet your needs.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Six days later the city <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/15siBmfuqpev50Eg0pZ6mhyVA7Q0XBFfn\/view?usp=sharing\">requested funding<\/a> from the Texas Water Development Board to study feasibility and do preliminary design of a seawater desalination plant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Around that time, Strawbridge said, \u201cit became very clear to the port authority that there was a difference of opinions as to how much water was available and how much would be needed to continue to attract large industrial investors.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe city felt that it had enough water to last, based on its forecast, until 2040,\u201d Strawbridge said. \u201cWe, the port authority, had a very different view of what that demand curve looked like.\u201d\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s when the port began developing plans for its own desalination plant, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2018, a new, interim city manager, Keith Selman, <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1-H5fSJydznLHqHbI0j4U4BS1rYXnQzhS\/view?usp=sharing\">promised another large volume of water<\/a> to Steel Dynamics, which then built a steel mill in the area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>The emerging solution: four desalination plants<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><b><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That same year, Corpus Christi created a program exempting the region\u2019s largest industrial water users from water curtailment restrictions during drought for a fee of $0.25 per 1,000 gallons. The city said it would use the money to fund the development of a new water source. The city\u2019s water reservoirs were two-thirds full at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gonzales, the city public information officer, said the industrial water users are subject to mandatory state 1, 2, and 3 restrictions of the city\u2019s Drought Contingency Plan, but described the <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1637xf6L5J91gb20TttHY8cPJOThGG9yH\/view\">Drought Surcharge Exemption Fee <\/a>as \u201ca payment structure, not a regulatory waiver.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cTo claim they are \u2018exempt\u2019 from curtailment is a fundamental misinterpretation of the city code,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2019, the city\u2019s staff presented the city council with a plan to build a seawater desalination facility. Exxon had taken up the city\u2019s offer for water and planned to build a massive plastics plant called Gulf Coast Growth Ventures in partnership with Saudi Arabia\u2019s national oil company. It would be the largest water user in the region, consuming as much as all city residents combined. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cLarge increases in water demand are projected to occur in 2022,\u201d said a presentation  given to the city council by then-Assistant City Manager Mark Van Vleck. \u201cTo meet expected water demand, we need to move forward with the procurement of a seawater desalination plant now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The plant would produce 10 million gallons per day, cost $140 million and take two years to build, the presentation said. It needed to begin supplying water by the start of 2023. The council voted unanimously to move forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By 2020 the size of the proposed plant had doubled. \u201cWe were recognizing that we\u2019re going to need more water,\u201d said Roland Barrera, a city council member who has served since 2018. \u201cIf we want to expand our economy, then we have to recognize that\u2019s the way to go.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the scale of the situation came into focus, the city proposed a second desalination plant, and the port also proposed two. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" data-attachment-id=\"223413\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2026\/03\/08\/texas-corpus-christi-water-crisis\/20260304-corpus-water-crisis-icn-bd-04\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-04.jpg?fit=2560%2C1706&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1706\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta='{\"aperture\":\"11\",\"credit\":\"Dylan Baddour\/Inside Climate News\",\"camera\":\"Canon EOS 5D Mark III\",\"caption\":\"Encarnacion Serna, a retired chemical engineer, explains a diagram and calculations he made of one of the city\\u2019s desalination projects.\",\"created_timestamp\":\"1772641921\",\"copyright\":\"\",\"focal_length\":\"40\",\"iso\":\"1000\",\"shutter_speed\":\"0.01\",\"title\":\"\",\"orientation\":\"0\"}' data-image-title=\"20260304 CORPUS WATER CRISIS ICN BD 04\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Encarnacion Serna, a retired chemical engineer, explains a diagram and calculations he made of one of the city\u2019s desalination projects.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-04.jpg?fit=300%2C200&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-04.jpg?fit=1024%2C682&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-04.jpg?resize=1024%2C682&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-223413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-04.jpg?resize=1024%2C682&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-04.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-04.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-04.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-04.jpg?resize=2048%2C1365&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-04.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-04.jpg?resize=2000%2C1333&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-04.jpg?resize=780%2C520&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 780w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-04.jpg?resize=800%2C533&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-04.jpg?resize=400%2C267&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-04-1024x682.jpg?w=370&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Encarnacion Serna, a retired chemical engineer, explains a diagram and calculations he made of one of the city\u2019s desalination projects. <span class=\"image-credit\">Dylan Baddour\/Inside Climate News<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Sounding the alarm<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s when Encarnacion Serna, a retired chemical plant operations manager, found out about plans for one of those plants just up the shore from his waterfront home on Corpus Christi Bay. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Serna, an engineer who had worked on reverse osmosis water systems for Valero and Occidental Chemical, reviewed the project\u2019s application. What he saw, he said, astounded him: flimsy assumptions, unrealistic estimates and missing information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A facility of that scale, he knew, would require railcars full of pretreatment chemicals, create a mountain of sludge waste every day and consume a tremendous amount of electricity. But he didn\u2019t see serious plans for any of that, he said.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He dug deeper into the desalination boom and quickly saw what was going on: Politicians and businessmen had oversold their water supply, he said, and were scrambling for more as shortages approached. But none of them had any idea what they were doing, Serna remembered thinking as he reviewed the applications.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve been trying since 2020 to let them know how catastrophic this is going to be,\u201d he said in an interview at his home. \u201cThey\u2019ve acted with a profound ignorance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Serna, a father of four who worked his whole life at chemical plants in Texas, didn\u2019t think any of the proposals would produce as much freshwater as projected, come online as quickly as expected or cost as little as any of the applications stated. These were not going to solve the crisis that officials had teed up, he believed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In calls, emails and public comments to city and port officials, Serna raised the alarm at what he saw unfolding. He felt brushed off and soon stopped receiving responses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Serna knew that chemical plants and refineries can\u2019t just throttle down water consumption at will. The multi-billion-dollar facilities are meant to operate consistently at a steady state with a set inflow of water. Changing that balance raised risks of explosions. The whole region was skidding toward catastrophe, Serna thought at the time, with no realistic solution in sight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2022, Gulf Coast Growth Ventures, the Exxon-Saudi partnership, began to draw water while the desalination facility meant to supply it still didn\u2019t even exist on paper. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Strawbridge, then CEO of the Port of Corpus Christi Authority, insisted a private desalination operator should build and run a large facility that could sell its water to the city. But the city wanted to operate its own. Strawbridge considered the location of the city\u2019s project unsuitable. Both sides said the other took steps to undermine the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, veteran local scientists rejected envrionmental studies from developers claiming the massive discharge of brine from the plants wouldn\u2019t turn the coastal bays and estuaries into hypersaline wastelands.<br><br>\u201cI\u2019ve read the engineering studies,\u201d said Paul Montagna, an endowed chair at the Harte Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&amp;M University in Corpus Christi, in a <a href=\"https:\/\/insideclimatenews.org\/news\/04112022\/corpus-christi-texas-exxon-water-desalination\/\">2022 interview<\/a> with Inside Climate News. \u201cAnd I just don\u2019t get it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Environmentalists organized against the plants. Araiza, the college professor who attended the first desalination meeting, had become a leader among groups that were fighting desalination as a means to resist the onslaught of petrochemical projects in their area, which they saw as wealthy, outside interests swooping in to hijack their resources, institutions and environment.\u00a0<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThey really thought it was just going to be a yes,\u201d she said from her office at Del Mar College, beneath a poster of Che Guevara. \u201cI think we helped slow things down.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Barrera, the city council member, started to feel uneasy as controversy and constant turnover on the council seemed to leave them unable to push the project forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve been accused of being a fearmonger,\u201d he said in an interview at his office in downtown Corpus Christi. \u201cNow everybody\u2019s scared.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1706\" data-attachment-id=\"223414\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2026\/03\/08\/texas-corpus-christi-water-crisis\/20260304-corpus-water-crisis-icn-bd-03\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-03.jpg?fit=2560%2C1706&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1706\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta='{\"aperture\":\"11\",\"credit\":\"Dylan Baddour\/Inside Climate News\",\"camera\":\"Canon EOS 5D Mark III\",\"caption\":\"Encarnacion Serna, on March 4, 2026, at his home on Corpus Christi Bay, spent years trying to warn local officials that they were steering the region towards disaster.\",\"created_timestamp\":\"1772640700\",\"copyright\":\"\",\"focal_length\":\"40\",\"iso\":\"1000\",\"shutter_speed\":\"0.00625\",\"title\":\"\",\"orientation\":\"0\"}' data-image-title=\"20260304 CORPUS WATER CRISIS ICN BD 03\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Encarnacion Serna, on March 4, 2026, at his home on Corpus Christi Bay, spent years trying to warn local officials that they were steering the region towards disaster.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-03.jpg?fit=300%2C200&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-03.jpg?fit=1024%2C682&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-03.jpg?resize=2560%2C1706&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-223414\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-03.jpg?w=2560&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 2560w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-03.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-03.jpg?resize=1024%2C682&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-03.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-03.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-03.jpg?resize=2048%2C1365&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-03.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-03.jpg?resize=2000%2C1333&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-03.jpg?resize=780%2C520&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 780w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-03.jpg?resize=800%2C533&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-03.jpg?resize=400%2C267&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260304-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-03.jpg?w=370&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Encarnacion Serna, at his home on Corpus Christi Bay in March, spent years trying to warn local officials that they were steering the region toward disaster. <span class=\"image-credit\">Dylan Baddour\/Inside Climate News<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">It all falls apart<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Strawbridge took an entourage of about 30 Texas lawmakers, businessmen and lobbyists to Israel in November 2022 to visit desalination facilities \u201cto see that it is possible to solve for our water issues,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Strawbridge encouraged the lawmakers to support the port\u2019s development of a private desalination plant, which he said was urgently needed to cover for the failures of the city. But he drew <a href=\"https:\/\/www.caller.com\/story\/news\/2022\/04\/20\/city-against-port-corpus-christis-desalination-loan-application\/7381667001\/\">public outrage<\/a> from city officials when he applied for state funding for a facility that struck them as a competitor to theirs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Strawbridge said the trip to Israel ultimately led the Texas lawmakers to pass legislation in 2023 that created the state\u2019s $1 billion water fund. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the trip, not disclosed to the public at the time, ultimately ignited a scandal that led to Strawbridge\u2019s resignation when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kristv.com\/news\/6-investigates\/6-investigates-digging-into-expenses-by-port-of-corpus-christis-executive-director\">an investigation<\/a> by KRIS 6 revealed that the port, which is not a taxing entity, spent more than $200,000 taking the crew to Israel. The station described \u201ca pattern of lavish spending\u201d on that trip and in prior port activities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\nStrawbridge earned $750,000 in the prior year and had expensed an average of $10,000 per month on food and alcohol, including parties. One day later, Strawbridge resigned, but maintained that all expenses were incurred properly through his work representing the port.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In an interview, he characterized the report and scandal as \u201ca hit job\u201d by political opponents and \u201can effort to hasten my departure from the Port.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThey used the expenses from the Israel trip as a basis for smearing my good name, although the trip ultimately proved fortuitous for the state and its water funding,\u201d Strawbridge said. \u201cUltimately an independent audit of the previous five years of my expenses found absolutely no irregularities or departures from policy. But of course that wasn\u2019t covered by KRIS 6.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That year, 2023, was the hottest on record in Texas. Water levels in Corpus Christi reservoirs continued to plummet as the drought intensified. Desalination had moved to the center of Corpus Christi\u2019s public conversation. Local politicians spoke for or against it while activists flocked to city council meetings and permit hearings.<br><br>\u201cBlessed be the environmentalists,\u201d said Serna, the retired engineer. \u201cBut 90% of them don\u2019t know what the hell they\u2019re talking about.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\nIn January 2024, Corpus Christi City Council produced a new cost estimate for its proposed desalination plant of about $550 million to produce 30 million gallons of freshwater per day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThese numbers are ridiculously low, fraudulent and deceitful,\u201d Serna wrote in an email to city officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By that time, Serna was angry. The subject line of his email read: \u201cThe Legacy of the Imbeciles.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Where was the city even getting this cost estimate from, he asked, if it \u201cdoes not have engineering and construction drawings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAll the city has at this time are deficits and bills incurred by lunatics in the millions of dollars already spent in the pursuit of this Scam project with nothing tangible on hand yet,\u201d Serna wrote. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Later that year, a new cost estimate put the project at nearly $760 million. Another estimate, in July 2025, said $1.2 billion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two months later, Corpus Christi City Council, dominated by newly elected members and unable to stomach the cost, voted to cancel the project after a rancorous, 12-hour public meeting that broke repeatedly into yelling from the audience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By then, the Port of Corpus Christi Authority also handed off one of its desalination projects to the nearby Nueces River Authority and mothballed another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Corpus Christi city leaders expressed optimism over plans to quickly pipe in groundwater from the Evangeline Aquifer about 20 miles away. But when users of that water, like the small city of Sinton, requested in February 2026 that an administrative law judge review Corpus Christi\u2019s groundwater permits, hope faded for a timely solution, other than hurricane-scale rainfall.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cLet the shit hit the fan,\u201d said Serna. \u201cLet dog eat dog.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What does he think will happen to Corpus Christi? In time, he said, the refineries and chemical plants will probably build their own water projects, somehow, and possibly restart their facilities that they will have to mothball in the meantime.   \n\nFor residents, he said, life might be like it used to be for him, 70 years ago, as a boy in the Rio Grande Valley, when he would hang plastic jugs on mesquite branches and carry them on his shoulder to ask nearby companies for water. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis is the legacy of the imbeciles,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In an emailed statement following publication of this report, Gonzales listed the projects the city is pursuing to produce more water and alleviate the crisis.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He said that the city is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2025\/01\/23\/texas-corpus-christi-water-emergency-reservoirs\/\">drilling emergency water wells<\/a> along the Nueces River. Experts interviewed <a href=\"https:\/\/photos.app.goo.gl\/Eps5Z1rZ7LKbG49U6\">don\u2019t expect<\/a> those wells to produce significant volumes before <a href=\"https:\/\/www.corpuschristitx.gov\/department-directory\/corpus-christi-water\/water-supply-dashboard-english\/\">the city projects<\/a> it may run out of water by early fall.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gonzales also said the city was pursuing its Evangeline Groundwater program. Dodson, who was involved with that project, said the city repeatedly dismissed it for years until 2025 when the situation became dire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1yN7f6LaMNTjYbt0xzHKi1w5pPGREaQ51\/view?usp=sharing\">challenge to that project\u2019s permits<\/a> was filed in February by the city of Sinton, which said \u201cthe transport and production of groundwater representing more than four times the total current production of all groundwater users in San Patricio County, is likely to result in unreasonable water level declines.\u201d\u00a0<br>Gonzales also said that the Corpus Christi City Council, in February, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kiiitv.com\/article\/news\/local\/corpus-christi-city-council-approves-11-items-including-evangeline-groundwater-agreements\/503-53679704-4d2d-4554-aac9-37c501271223\">approved plans<\/a> for a seawater desalination plant that the city projects will begin producing potable water in two years.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Disclosure: Texas A&amp;M University, the University of Houston 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\u2019s journalism. Find a complete\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/support-us\/corporate-sponsors\/\">list of them here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<p><!-- \/wp:post-content --><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>City officials expect to reach a \u201cwater emergency\u201d within months and run out of water next year. 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That would halt jet fuel deliveries to Texas airports, hike gas prices and trigger a local economic disaster without precedent, former officials say.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2026\/03\/08\/texas-corpus-christi-water-crisis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Corpus Christi careens toward water catastrophe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"City officials expect to reach a \u201cwater emergency\u201d within months and run out of water next year. That would halt jet fuel deliveries to Texas airports, hike gas prices and trigger a local economic disaster without precedent, former officials say.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2026\/03\/08\/texas-corpus-christi-water-crisis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Texas Tribune\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-08T10:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-09T19:14:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.texastribune.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260307-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-08.jpg?fit=2560%2C1706&quality=100&ssl=1&w=1200&h=630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1706\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Inside Climate News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Inside Climate News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"21 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.texastribune.org\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/08\\\/texas-corpus-christi-water-crisis\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.texastribune.org\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/08\\\/texas-corpus-christi-water-crisis\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Inside Climate News\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.texastribune.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2b72a342b2853f621034293bc1a15973\"},\"headline\":\"After a decade of missteps, Corpus Christi careens toward water catastrophe\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-08T10:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-09T19:14:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.texastribune.org\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/08\\\/texas-corpus-christi-water-crisis\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":4442,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.texastribune.org\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.texastribune.org\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/08\\\/texas-corpus-christi-water-crisis\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.texastribune.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/20260307-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-08.jpg?fit=2560%2C1706&quality=89&ssl=1\",\"keywords\":[\"Corpus Christi\",\"Nueces County\",\"water supply\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Economy\",\"Energy\",\"Environment\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.texastribune.org\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/08\\\/texas-corpus-christi-water-crisis\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.texastribune.org\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/08\\\/texas-corpus-christi-water-crisis\\\/\",\"name\":\"Corpus Christi careens toward water catastrophe\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.texastribune.org\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.texastribune.org\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/08\\\/texas-corpus-christi-water-crisis\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.texastribune.org\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/08\\\/texas-corpus-christi-water-crisis\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.texastribune.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/20260307-CORPUS-WATER-CRISIS-ICN-BD-08.jpg?fit=2560%2C1706&quality=89&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-08T10:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-09T19:14:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"City officials expect to reach a \u201cwater emergency\u201d within months and run out of water next year. 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