Corpus Christi’s water crisis brought a campaigning candidate for Texas governor to town this week.
State Rep. Gina Hinojosa said she came to Corpus Christi to understand the water situation, speaking with more than 70 “local leaders” from across Corpus Christi and other Nueces County communities on March 23 and 24. Hinojosa said she learned about Corpus Christi’s water crisis on the campaign trail.
Hinojosa, who has been a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives for about a decade, is challenging Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. In Abbott’s public campaign stops in recent months, including in Corpus Christi, he’s touted his property tax reform plans.
Abbott has served as governor since 2015. On March 10, Abbott responded to a question about the water crisis from a reporter at an unrelated news conference, criticizing Corpus Christi leaders.
“What Corpus Christi leaders have to do is make a decision,” Abbott said. “We can only give them a little time more before the state of Texas has to take over and micromanage that city and run that city” to ensure water supply for residents.
Abbott did not specify the city of Corpus Christi’s controversial Inner Harbor desalination project in his comments on March 10, but many have interpreted his words to be related to delays in moving forward with the project.
Late last year, work on the project was put on hold by the Corpus Christi City Council, with members who voted to terminate a design contract citing the project’s $1.2 billion price tag.
Despite the delay, the project isn’t dead. The council will consider in April a proposed contract with Corpus Christi Desal Partners for its development. The cost is now estimated at $978.7 million.
The Texas Water Development Board had previously awarded the city a low-interest loan of about $757 million to help finance the development of Inner Harbor desalination. The city cannot use this money for other projects.
Asked whether she supports the city of Corpus Christi’s Inner Harbor desalination project, Hinojosa said that she has heard from community members concerns about the cost and environmental impact.
“It does not sound like it is the best way forward,” she said. “And I think the bottom line is there’s lots of different proposals out there. The people of Corpus have already rejected this one.”
Desalination is just one potential reaction to Corpus Christi’s water crisis. Abbott has stepped in to expedite another controversial local water project — groundwater. Abbott waived certain regulations for a temporary permit for a Corpus Christi groundwater project — now in active use — and directed the Lavaca Navidad River Authority to ensure Corpus Christi water is not curtailed in the near term. LNRA agreed.
“Governor Abbott will utilize all necessary tools to ensure the Corpus Christi area has a safe, reliable water supply,” Abbott’s press secretary Andrew Mahaleris wrote in a March 16 message to the Caller-Times.
The groundwater project has been challenged by private Nueces County well owners relying on well water for residential, agricultural and livestock needs. They’re concerned about the potential of harmful effects to the land and water quality and availability.
Hinojosa said that the governor “should have come up with a water plan 10 years ago.”
The water crisis could have been averted, she said.
Contacted for this article, Abbott’s campaign shared his March 10 comments, when he stated that the state has been “actively involved in it going back a long time.”
All over the state, communities are struggling with finding sufficient water, Hinojosa said. Securing water for citizens has to be the first priority, she said, stating that industry should not be prioritized above or “equally” to the people.
“People have real concerns about whether that’s going to happen,” Hinojosa said.
She said that state funding can be part of the solution, but “cannot substitute for industry paying its fair share.”
She said her main takeaway from her visit to Corpus Christi is that people in the community are “tired of footing the bill for industry.”
“The thing that’s crazy to me is that in the rest of the state, people just know that they turn on the faucet and water is going to be there,” Hinojosa said. “But in Corpus, people know the intricacies of how much water there is, what’s in the water, where it comes from.”
People have learned these details because they’re feeling desperate, she said.
“Basics like water, electricity, should not be a challenge for Texas,” Hinojosa said.
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Here’s what candidates for Texas governor say about Corpus Christi water
Reporting by Olivia Garrett, Corpus Christi Caller Times / Corpus Christi Caller Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
