Water is required for life. Humans come first. By Julie Peller, Ph.D.

Green Junction

Quality of life and modernization depend on adequate water sources. In Corpus Christi, Texas, the city’s half-million residents and industries are facing a looming water supply depletion. Industrial users, mostly in the energy/petrochemical industries, that rely on water for cooling systems and steam generation, consume as much as 70 to 80 percent of the area’s water. City officials believe the area is set to reach a Level 1 drought emergency by September, defined as a situation in which water demand outpaces supply for 180 days. It proposes a 5,250-gallon-per-month allotment for residents. It is tricky to require water reductions for industrial processes.

Corpus Christi relies on surface water from Lake Corpus Christi and Choke Canyon Reservoir. A year ago, Lake Corpus Christi was 21% full, and today it is 8.7% full. In response to reservoir shortages last fall, the city of Corpus Christi started pumping millions of gallons of water per day from aquifers and groundwater. Many landowners in nearby towns experienced declines in their well water levels. Industries also began drilling. As more groundwater is removed, the remaining water can become brackish, too salty to drink. Then it requires expensive treatment. It was reported that the new, massive plastics plant operated by ExxonMobil and the Saudi state oil company, possibly the region’s largest water user, drilled and found groundwater too salty to use.

Over the past 15 years, Corpus Christi has approved industrial growth that required huge amounts of water. The area has experienced five consecutive years of record heat and drought. Many experts view the current crisis as the result of poor planning over many years. Corpus Christi is a major supplier of critical fuel products, including jet fuel, to several areas. Water is required to continue these industrial processes. Water is also required for life.

Julie Peller, Ph.D., is an environmental chemist (Professor of Chemistry at Valparaiso University). She has been writing a weekly column, The Green Junction, for the past seven years and is helping to move the call of Laudato Si to action. Her research interests include advanced oxidation for aqueous solutions, water quality analyses, emerging contaminants, air quality analyses, challenges along the Lake Michigan shoreline (such as Cladophora, water, and sediment contaminants), and student and citizen participation in environmental work.