While we’re all busy complaining about the latest pothole on Slide Road, our neighbors down in the Coastal Bend are currently starring in their own real-life reboot of Mad Max. At least six small towns around Corpus Christi have officially declared disaster status because their reservoirs are hitting a pathetic 8% capacity. Corpus Christi, the “Hub City” of the coast, is supposed to be supplying water to 20 other municipalities, but it turns out it’s hard to share when your main source of liquid is mostly mud and broken dreams.
In a move that should surprise absolutely no one familiar with Texas politics, the local government is handling the crisis with the grace of a drunk armadillo. While residents are being threatened with $500 fines and having their water shut off for the crime of keeping a magnolia tree alive, the massive industrial plants in the area—like Exxon-SABIC—are sucking up more water than all 300,000 residents combined. But don’t worry, the refineries were smart enough to buy “drought insurance” years ago for a few extra pennies, so they get to keep the taps flowing while you’re stuck “showering” with a handful of wet wipes.
The Corpus City Council recently delayed a vote on mandatory 25% water cuts because they didn’t want to “wreck the economy.” Apparently, “the economy” is code for “multi-billion dollar plastic plants,” while “the people” are just obstacles who need to stop being so thirsty. Even the experts at our very own Texas Tech School of Law are sounding the alarm, admitting that they are “deeply unsettled” and “very scared.” When the people who study water law for a living start sweating, it’s usually time to start worrying—or at least start stocking up on bottled Ranch dressing.
Lubbock residents should pay close attention to this slow-motion train wreck. We live in a place where the wind regularly tries to sandblast the skin off our faces, and we’re relying on the same state-level “planning” that thinks industrial profits are more important than actual human hydration. If Corpus becomes the first modern American city to literally run out of water, you can bet your last dusty dollar that Lubbock won’t be far behind in the race to the bottom of the well.
If the city can’t even manage to keep the cotton fields from blowing into our living rooms, what makes anyone think they’ll have a plan for when the “Hub City” becomes the “Dust Bowl 2.0”?
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