Corpus Christi water crisis creeps closer

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Corpus Christi could be closer to a water emergency that has sparked credit concerns, according to scenarios presented to the city council on Tuesday. 

The drought-stricken Texas city has been projecting a level 1 emergency beginning in November, indicating the water system is 180 days from supply not meeting demand. A scramble to assemble a near-term boost in water supplies, as well as weather projections for a continued dearth of rain, led to the production of five additional scenarios.  

Scenarios A and B peg an emergency in May, while scenarios C and D project October, and scenario E shows no emergency.

"Based on what we know for the last couple of days, we're probably looking better for a C or D scenario," City Manager Peter Zanoni told council members.

Corpus Christi Water, the primary water supplier for a seven-county region, is experiencing stage three drought conditions that triggered water-use restrictions. A water supply dashboard on the city's website shows two western reservoirs being depleted during the first half of 2027.

The city has $1 billion of projects underway that are aimed at producing 76 million gallons of water a day, according to Zanoni.

In February, the city council signaled its intention to issue up to $410 million of water revenue bonds in the future to reimburse cash-on-hand expenditures for projects to treat brackish water and tap groundwater.

Seawater desalination is also being pursued for the longer term, with the council on Tuesday greenlighting talks with CPS Energy to develop potential options for a desalination project at the municipal utility's Barney Davis Power Plant. 

Corpus Christi is revisiting constructing an inner harbor seawater desalination plant with a new design-build team after estimated costs escalated to about $1.3 billion under a previous team, leading to the project's termination in September. The current project carries a preliminary price tag of $978.77 million.

The city is on the hook to pay off $232 million of bonds sold for the original desalination project by the triple-A-rated Texas Water Development Board as part of $757 million in lower-interest loans it authorized. 

In October, the city council approved an agreement with the Nueces River Authority to reserve 50 million gallons of water daily from a proposed Harbor Island Seawater Desalination Plant. 

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who expressed frustration last week with the city's past indecisiveness over desalination and warned of potential state intervention, ordered expedited temporary state permits for groundwater wells and directed the Lavaca-Navidad Water Authority to ensure Corpus Christi water is not curtailed in the near term.

"Gov. Abbott will utilize all necessary tools to ensure the Corpus Christi area has a safe, reliable water supply." Abbott spokesman Andrew Mahaleris said in a statement.

In late February, President Donald Trump said he supports federal funding for the city's desalination efforts.

Corpus Christi was hit in December with downgrades and negative outlooks by Moody's Ratings, which pointed to accelerated water depletion risk and a narrow timeframe to implement solutions before supply fails to meet demand.

In October, Fitch Ratings and S&P Global Ratings revised their outlooks on Corpus Christi's utility system revenue bonds to negative from stable, signaling concerns over the city's ability to boost its water supply.