A plan to become "drought proof" has turned into a financial and political mess in Corpus Christi, Texas.
After years of delays, the city has spent at least $50 million on a desalination plant that still doesn't exist, while residents have faced drought restrictions and the projected cost has ballooned to $1.2 billion.
Here's what to know
The 2018 arrangement shielded major industrial water users — including OxyChem, Valero, Citgo, and Flint Hills Resources — from future drought surcharges after they agreed to pay a special fee. But the desalination plant was never completed, leaving those companies with their exemption as the region moved closer to a severe water shortage, according to Texas Public Radio.
Early estimates were far lower. In 2019, assistant city manager Mark Van Vleck told City Council that a 10 million-gallon-per-day plant could cost about $140 million and be operating by early 2023, when ExxonMobil's plastics facility was expected to boost demand.
The project then expanded repeatedly. In February 2020, city staff were advocating for a 20 million gallons-per-day plant priced at $220 million. By January 2024, officials were considering a 30 million gallons-per-day plant version estimated at $757 million. In July 2025, the contractor told council the projected cost had climbed again, reaching $1.2 billion.
During debates over steps like closing pools and banning lawn watering and car washing, activist Isabel Araiza, founder of For the Greater Good, said, "The reason we were in the water crisis was because of their water usage."
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More background
In Corpus Christi, industrial expansion and water policy became tightly linked. The port city's refineries and chemical plants together use more water than the 500,000 residents of the seven-county Coastal Bend region combined. Delays in a major supply project had consequences not only for households, but also for public finances and local employment.
Repeated drought scares drove the desalination push. After a 1984 crisis, Corpus Christi built Choke Canyon, then added a pipeline to Lake Texana in the 1990s and another to the Colorado River in the 2010s. By 2014, city and industry leaders were treating the Gulf of Mexico as the last major untapped source.
Residents, meanwhile, faced the prospect of higher bills and environmental risks to Corpus Christi Bay as companies tied to oil, petrochemicals, and plastics pushed for more water security to support expansion.
Coal and natural gas power plants contribute to air and water pollution associated with asthma, heart disease, cancer, and premature death. Dependence on those fuels can also keep household energy costs elevated compared with more abundant sources such as sunlight and wind. On top of that, industry lobbying can slow cleaner, cheaper energy alternatives that would better protect families and reduce costs.
The city's financial picture also worsened. Credit rating outlooks weakened as reservoir levels dropped, and officials warned that walking away from the project could require repaying $235 million in state borrowing, along with roughly $70 million in interest.
What's being done?
Araiza and other activists gathered nearly 13,000 signatures, giving residents a direct vote through the Fair Water Amendment. If approved, the measure would repeal the 2018 drought-surcharge exemption and significantly increase what large industrial users must pay during future droughts.
In 2025, the council approved more than $1 billion for seven water projects, most involving groundwater, while the city started laying pipe and drilling wells before obtaining all operating permits.
Industrial users have also taken steps to protect their own access. ExxonMobil, OxyChem, school districts, and hospital districts all sought permits for emergency wells as reservoir levels neared a crisis point.
Supporters of desalination have not given up on the idea. After the council rejected a proposal for a new contractor, city manager Peter Zanoni argued that federal assistance would be necessary to finally complete the long-delayed project and prevent another emergency.
"No city manager, no city council, no resident should ever have to be put through this again," Zanoni said.
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