In 2019 Corpus Christi advanced a desalination plant planned for 2023 at an initial cost of $140 million to supply refineries and chemical plants. The city promised tens of millions of gallons per day to new industrial operations including a plastics plant co-owned by ExxonMobil and SABIC, a lithium refinery for Tesla, and a Chemours specialty chemicals plant. The desalination project stalled and costs rose above $1 billion while a multiyear drought depleted reservoirs. Residents faced strict water-use restrictions while industrial operations, largely exempt, continued drawing promised supplies. Officials warned of a potential official water emergency by the end of 2026. A prolonged council hearing in September saw arrests and opposition citing cost and environmental concerns.
"In the meantime, the city suffered through a multiyear drought, and local reservoirs reached alarmingly low levels. Residents were prohibited from watering their lawns or hosing down their cars; industrial operations, largely exempt from drought restrictions, kept drawing the water they had been promised. Officials predicted that Corpus Christi might enter an official water emergency-triggered when water demand is projected to exceed supply within six months-by the end of 2026."
"This September, the city council met to vote on whether to proceed with building the desalination plant. The hearing started around noon; by midnight, it was still under way, and three women in the audience, including a former mayoral candidate and a college professor, had been arrested for disorderly conduct. Some opponents of the plan voiced concerns about its costs. Others were worried about environmental ramifications."
Read at The New Yorker
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