This article is published in partnership with The South Texas Project, an initiative at Texas A&M University’s Department of Communication and Journalism that reports stories from the region.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – On an otherwise empty residential street, Louis Alvarado pushed a lawnmower to trim the yard of an elderly church friend, keeping the front of the home looking tidy amid other homes where grass and weeds twist upward. Ordinarily a normal chore, lawn care hadn’t been the same here since the city entered Stage 3 water restrictions in December 2024. The water restrictions meant no more watering lawns, making yard upkeep trickier, if not impossible.
The outlook has been improving: In August, the city lowered its alert level to Stage 2 water restrictions, which allows for limited irrigation…