On the South Texas coast, the city of Corpus Christi has initiated an emergency effort to boost its water supply as local reservoirs experience a yearslong decline and water demand from big industrial projects continues to grow.
The Corpus Christi City Council approved a measure last week to begin leasing land for wells that will pump millions of gallons per day into the Nueces River, the region’s main water supply. It followed an emergency authorization memo for the project issued by the city manager on Dec. 31.
Two weeks earlier, Corpus Christi, which supplies water to 600,000 people in seven counties, enacted its strictest water use restrictions in at least 30 years, when combined levels in its two reservoirs on the Nueces River fell below 20% full after years of sparse rainfall.
“This is my fourth drought in my 43-year engineering career,” said John Michael, a senior vice president with engineering contractor Hanson Professional Services and manager for Corpus Christi’s Nueces River groundwater project, which aims to produce 20 million gallons per day by autumn. “They’re not easy. They’re high anxiety. They’re stressful.”
Drought has always been a part of life in South Texas. But in recent years, Corpus Christi has faced combined pressures of a prolonged dry spell and