Water for People not polluters
For decades, the City of Corpus Christi has abused its status as the Coastal Bend’s regional water provider. Instead of prioritizing the repair of crumbling infrastructure, higher quality standards for potable water, or affordability for small users, Corpus Christi has instead focused on collaborating with polluting industries to create sweetheart deals for the region’s heaviest water users. The result? Repeated water boils and bans, higher bills, and drought restrictions and fines for residential users.
Adding insult to injury, the City and Port of Corpus Christi want to force small water users to further subsidize polluting industry by financing massive desalination projects. Each of the desalination plants proposed by the City and Port would have devastating impacts on local waterways, on neighborhoods near the facilities, and on residential and small business ratepayers.
The plants would produce millions of gallons of salty, chemical-filled discharge that would be pumped back into the Corpus Christi Bay’s closed system, risking the devastation of animal life and putting the Coastal Bend’s greatest recreation and tourism asset in jeopardy. Communities next to the proposed facilities, some of whom have been subjected to the harmful impacts of environmental racism for decades, would be plagued by pollution, noise and congested roadways. Most objectionably, plant construction would be funded with taxpayer-backed loans with no commitment from corporate customers to pay – meaning higher bills for everyone else.
TCE is working alongside a growing coalition of Coastal Bend community leaders who oppose the City’s and Port’s disastrous desalination plans. We’re focused on educating the community about the negative impacts of corporate desal, fighting permits and policy decisions that could allow the projects to proceed, and advocating for reliable, affordable alternatives for meeting the future water needs of the region. Lean more at DesalDisaster.com.