About 450,000 residents in the Corpus Christi (Texas) metropolitan area are primarily served by fresh water from two severely threatened reservoirs, but the city has become increasingly reliant on water sent via the Mary Rhodes Pipeline from Lake Texana and the Colorado River. The city remains under stage 3 water restrictions despite recent heavy rains. Lake Corpus Christi is only a third full, while the rains raised Choke Canyon Reservoir’s water level to 20% full.

The city has twice voted to delay a final vote to approve the billion-dollar, privately funded, state and federally permitted desalination Inner Harbor desalination plant that when operational would produce 30 million gallons per day of potable water – about a quarter of the city’s water need (including that of its burgeoning industrial sector).

Read more in RealClearEnergy here.

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