Corpus Christi is a town built around water. But while the Gulf of Mexico has made the region what it is today, seawater can’t save Corpus from a rapidly growing water crisis.
As the Gulf shines on the horizon, water for the town’s residents is nowhere to be found. Wilting plants, timed showers, and unwashed cars have become a staple as drought restrictions continue. Industries, on the other hand, face no limits on water use, and a resource-intensive expansion of new projects in the region, including Tesla’s new lithium refinery, is expected to add much more demand for an already strained supply.
A Texas city the size of Corpus Christi, with a population of about 315,000, generally uses around 38 percent of its water supply for industrial, commercial or institutional use, according to the Texas Water Development Board. In Corpus, a coastal hub for heavy industry, that rate is at least 58 percent, according to Corpus Christi Water, the city’s municipal water utility…