{"id":9555,"date":"2024-01-27T18:50:48","date_gmt":"2024-01-27T18:50:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/?p=9555"},"modified":"2024-01-27T18:50:48","modified_gmt":"2024-01-27T18:50:48","slug":"texas-is-already-running-out-of-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/?p=9555","title":{"rendered":"Texas Is Already Running Out of Water"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\u201cHowever, if a system is permanently impaired it is also possible that recovery will not reach former levels,\u201d Montagna said.<\/p>\n

Studies suggest that systems around Corpus Christi may already be \u201cpermanently impaired,\u201d Montagna said, largely due to a sustained lack of fresh water.<\/p>\n

Similar problems span the lower Texas coast. The Rio Grande hasn\u2019t flowed consistently into the Gulf of Mexico since the early 2000s. On the Colorado River, which runs through Austin, authorities have kept water releases<\/a> to the coastal wetlands at a bare minimum in recent years. Jennifer Walker, director of the National Wildlife Foundation\u2019s Texas Coast and Water Program, called it \u201ccritical life support.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWater to meet environmental needs is frequently the first to be negotiated away,\u201d Walker said. \u201cOur bays and estuaries are a hugely important part of Texas and they\u2019re not something that would be easy to go back and fix.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Corpus Christi, a major refining and export hub for Texas shale oil and gas, city authorities have imposed water use restrictions on residents, with more to come if reservoir levels fall below 30 percent. But the region\u2019s largest industrial water consumers operate unabated, thanks to a purchasable exemption from drought restrictions for industrial users\u2014$0.25 per 1,000 gallons\u2014passed by the city council<\/a> in 2018.<\/p>\n

That includes users like ExxonMobil\u2019s massive new plastics plant, which is authorized to use up to 25 million gallons of water per day\u2014a quarter of the regional summertime water demand.<\/p>\n

\u201cIndustry can continue full bore through all of these drought stages and the estuary gets cut off early,\u201d said a water resource consultant from Corpus Christi who requested anonymity to preserve his business relationship with the city. \u201cI think it\u2019s a looming disaster. They are still trying to recruit all these water-intensive industries along the coast.\u201d<\/p>\n

Proceeds from the exemption program were supposed to fund development of seawater desalination plants that would expand the regional water supply and meet demands of a booming industrial buildout. The first plant was initially planned<\/a> to begin operations early last year, but it remains mired in challenges and years away from breaking ground. Meanwhile, the industrial buildout continues.<\/p>\n

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