Corpus Christi, TX Close To Declaring Water Emergency Amid Prolonged Drought

ROBSTOWN, TEXAS - MAY 07: Samuel Alaniz waters his garden at his home on May 07, 2026 in Robstown, Texas. "I believe the city’s plan is to gobble up every piece of property they can have here; expand industrialization, them not caring and us suffering is part of the plan—that we would get frustrated and just have to leave… They see us suffering, they see us with poisoned water, they don’t care if an ammonia plant is sitting next to your home—they don’t care. These industries shouldn’t be sitting next to communities where there are children playing outside, breathing the air, drinking this nasty water--they don’t care. They need to keep industry in an area that’s designated for industry. They’re using a lot of our resources and they just don’t care… I want our local leaders to know that their decisions in providing all this water for industry is affecting rural areas of this community. It affects our way of life, the quality of produce we can raise, our horses, our chickens; our quality of life," said the Alaniz household. Corpus Christi City Council has voted to begin preliminary discussions on building a desalination facility for the Coastal Bend region as the city faces a looming water crisis driven by rising temperatures, prolonged drought conditions, and increasing demand from local oil refineries. If city leaders are unable to secure a workable long-term solution—such as drilling additional groundwater wells or moving forward with desalination projects—Corpus Christi could declare an unprecedented Level 1 water emergency by September of 2026. Such a declaration would require a 25 percent reduction in water usage for both residents and industrial users, including refineries. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)