CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — May Mendoza is in need of water. But despite the fact that her restaurant, Perrin’s on the Water, is literally on the waters of the Texas Gulf Coast, drinking water is in increasingly short supply. On a sunny Wednesday in late April, she taped up signs in the bathrooms and on the front and back doors, alerting guests to the effects of Corpus Christi’s rapidly accelerating water shortage.
“We’re just going to bottled water in a couple days,” Mendoza told a couple as they found a seat at her New Orleans-style restaurant.
Corpus Christi’s city leaders have called for declaring a “Level 1” water emergency at the end of the summer, cutting the amount of water residents, small businesses and big industry can use by 25%. And Mendoza isn’t one to wait for an emergency to hit her. So she’s preparing.
“No more free water,” she said. “We’re trying to get ahead of it.”
What’s behind the water crisis in Corpus Christi?
She is moving to paper plates for certain dishes and throwaway cups for anything but cocktails, so there will be less to clean in the kitchen.
Perrin’s just opened about two months ago, and Mendoza hopes the summer regulars still decide to vacation in town. The next few months, she said, is their best time…