A hearing before the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is scheduled next month in Corpus Christi’s continuing efforts to solve water supply issues. The Texas Tribune reported Jan. 12 that two main reservoirs for Texas’ eighth-largest city are at historic lows amid an ongoing drought. According to The Tribune, city officials have told residents they are less than a year away from major water cuts that could reduce their water use by 25 percent.
Last year plans for a desalination plant failed under criticism from environmental groups and local leaders over its growing price tag (to more than $1 billion) and its potential harm to Corpus Christi Bay. The city is drilling multiple wells in rural Nueces County to access groundwater for residents and the city’s biggest water users such as crude oil refineries Valero Refining and Flint Hills Resources and petrochemical company LyondellBasell. Valero and LyondellBasell reportedly told the city they may have to reduce operations because of water supply issues.
The Tribune said there is a grassroots effort to form a groundwater conservation district to oversee pumping from the wells, but TCEQ reportedly rarely approves districts through citizen petitions. The city is attempting to put wells under the jurisdiction of a special district controlled by the city. Residents have asked TCEQ to consider the legitimacy of the city’s actions with a hearing scheduled in February.