Corpus Christi Water Emergency Could Be Two Months Away

Corpus Christi leaders on Tuesday unveiled new projections suggesting that the city could be just two months away from triggering emergency water measures.

At a marathon city council meeting that stretched for 10 hours, Nick Winkelmann, interim chief operating officer of Corpus Christi Water, outlined five potential scenarios — two of which would push the city into a level one water emergency by May. At that point, the city’s water supply would be projected to fall short of demand within 180 days.

When pressed by council member Kaylynn Paxson on which scenario the city is preparing to follow, staffers at the water utility said they expect to narrow the possibilities down to two or three in the coming weeks as more data becomes available.

Meanwhile, Gov. Greg Abbott — who sharply criticized Corpus Christi leaders for their handling of the crisis recently — has ordered agencies to suspend normal procedures in an effort to buy the city more time.

Complicating the outlook are bleak seasonal forecasts. Projections from the National Weather Service show little to no rainfall expected between July and September, limiting inflows to key reservoirs that supply the city, including Choke Canyon, Lake Corpus Christi and Lake Texana.

Despite the mounting concerns, the city has not finalized a curtailment plan that would lay out how much — and how soon — residents and businesses would have to reduce their water use.

“If we get to the point where we have to declare a level one water emergency, we need to be ready for that and we have no precedent to follow and we have no there’s no manual, there’s no video, there’s no, ‘This is how we did it the last time,’ ” City Manager Peter Zanoni told the council, adding that a curtailment plan could take weeks or months to finalize and implement.

Tuesday’s meeting marked the culmination of a crisis that has been years in the making. For a decade, Corpus Christi has aggressively courted large companies to build refineries, natural gas export terminals and other industrial facilities along Corpus Christi Bay while promising the city would have sufficient water to meet the expected demand.

Much of that confidence hinged on a planned seawater desalination plant that was supposed to deliver 30 million gallons of water per day by 2028 — most of it destined for industrial customers. But when the city council killed the project last year amid public opposition to its rising cost and potential environmental impacts on the bay, it upended the city’s long-term water planning.

City leaders are now hoping to restart the desalination project, which received more than $750 million in low-interest loans from the Texas Water Development Board.

Earlier this year, one model projected that the city’s water supply could drop below expected demand as soon as June 2027, at which point the water system would not be able to move water to customers.

The city recently boosted production from its primary water pipeline that pulls from Lake Texana and the Colorado River, increasing capacity by 24 million gallons per day, even as a deepening drought threatens to cut off that extra water.

Under the drought plan for the Lavaca-Navidad River Authority, which operates the lake, when the lake reaches 50% capacity, the agency must reduce customers’ water supply by 10%. The reservoir is currently at 54% of capacity.

The governor’s office Friday ordered the river authority to change that trigger point to 40% to guarantee more water to the city. The authority is meeting on Wednesday to make that change, according to the governor’s office.

Meanwhile, several major water infrastructure projects remain months or even years away from completion, leaving a critical gap as water demand continues to climb.

To close that gap, the city has turned to drilling wells in two fields in rural Nueces County that are expected to produce up to 26 million gallons daily once fully operational. One field is completed and another has some wells ready to operate soon, but is awaiting a permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Corpus Christi officials say the delays could push the city toward a water emergency sooner.

“The only thing holding us up is a piece of paper,” Zanoni, the city manager, said at a Friday press conference.

On Friday, Abbott directed the TCEQ to fast-track temporary permits and loosen certain regulatory requirements to accelerate the city’s drilling projects.

“Corpus Christi is an important economic driver not only for Texas but also the nation,” said Andrew Mahaleris, the governor’s press secretary. “The State of Texas is committing significant investments to ensure Corpus Christi has the water resources it needs to serve citizens. The Governor is further stepping in and has waived regulations to ensure TCEQ can issue temporary permits on an expedited basis — while still preserving public input.”

TCEQ did not immediately comment on whether those permits have been issued.

During Tuesday’s meeting, the council also voted to accelerate the second well drilling project — despite not yet having the permits needed to pump.

The Evangeline groundwater project would include 24 wells and is projected to produce about 24 million gallons of water per day from neighboring San Patricio County. It could be finished by 2028, according to a city memo.

“We’re taking a calculated risk and continuing the design and we’re going to build,” Zanoni told council members. “We’re going to start building the project in about five weeks, without the permits, without the drilling permits.”

Officials say the design for the project is about 60% complete and the wells could deliver roughly 4 million gallons of water per day by November, though that timeline depends heavily on when the city receives permits to start pumping.

City officials acknowledged their action could face legal challenges.

The local groundwater district initially approved the city’s well permits in San Patricio County, but when the city of Sinton and two other parties contested them, the permits were put on hold until there’s an administrative hearing. No date has been set for that hearing, which Corpus Christi officials said could trigger a contested case that delays the project by up to two years.

The city of Sinton and San Patricio County Groundwater Conservation District did not immediately reply to comment on the city’s decision to move forward.

Zanoni defended the aggressive timeline and financial risk on Tuesday, saying the project is critical to avoiding water restrictions.

“It’s the only thing right now that’ll keep us out of a level one water emergency,” he said. “So yes, it’s expensive, but it’s the only thing.”

Mayor Paulette M. Guajardo echoed that urgency.

“We need this water, we cannot let it go,” she said. “We have to move this forward and hope for the best and do everything we can.”

Council member Rolando Barrera questioned whether the city is committing too much money to a project that is not guaranteed to move forward. Council member Mark Scott raised similar concerns about moving ahead without permits.

“My heartburn is that I thought it was a no-brainer to get these permits,” Scott said. “Now I’m walking the plank … about to spend, how much money, based on the assumption that we’re going to get those permits.”

The council unanimously approved moving forward with construction — earmarking nearly $190 million for it — and also voted to spend $170 million on land that comes with groundwater rights.

“It’s a little scary,” said council member Gil Hernandez, “but we’re in a situation where we should be afraid right now.”

This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.

Photo: The Corpus Christi City Council meets to discuss the city’s depleting water supplies on March 17, 2026. Pete Garcia for The Texas Tribune