Inside the Texas city where locals are running out of water because huge energy plants are guzzling the supply
By Emma Richter
Daily Mail
Oct 12, 2025
Residents of a Texas city are running out of water due to huge energy plants hoarding the supply, according to officials.
Big name companies, including Exxon Mobil and Tesla, have gone on to call South Texas their home in recent years so they can scoop up cheap energy, land and copious amounts of water.
Over the past 20 years, the companies have shelled out billions of dollars to build massive plants that use up tons of water to turn fossil fuels into gasoline, and other products like jet fuel.
And in recent years, these corporations have pushed further with the move to electric vehicles and batteries. In doing so, they refine lithium to make the batteries and produce plastic pellets.
All of this has severely impacted locals in Corpus Christi, a coastal city about two hours outside of San Antonio.
An active drought has taken over the area that is home to about more than 500,000.
The city anticipates it won't be able to meet its water demand within the next 18 months, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The city's water supply not only serves the big companies, but is also the source for residents across seven counties.
Residents in Corpus Christi, Texas are running out of water because large companies, including Exxon and Tesla, snatching it for their business
And the excess use of water is not only affecting locals, but the companies that guzzle it all away.
Soon, they could also see a water shortage that could then trickle down to layoffs and a pause in the industry.
Meanwhile, residents are just trying to do the best they can with what they have while also preparing for the worst.
Many are trying to financially prepare for booming water prices and also keep their lawns from running dry.
According to Mike Howard, chief executive of Howard Energy Partners, the water situation 'is about as dire as I've ever seen it.'
Howard, who runs a private energy company that owns multiple facilities in the area, said his powerful business can't even make it through because of the lack of water.
'It has all the energy in the world, and it doesn’t have water,' he said.
Corpus Christi might not be the only location in the state to be impacted by the drought, as its refineries provide products to markets and regional airports in San Antonio, Austin and Dallas, Texas.
They also provide supplies to Mexico, as Corpus Christi sits approximately 150 miles from the border.
Because of the excess use of water, the companies that are taking it, will soon run out as well
The city is also close to a Navy base that holds the world's biggest rotary-wing repair center that services major aircrafts, including Black Hawk helicopters.
When drought previously occurred in Corpus Christi, the area would turn to two reservoirs to get their water. A 101-mile pipeline also acted as a source.
But three years ago everything changed when no rainfall came and water restrictions came into play.
Presently, the drought levels are the lowest they've ever been, and mixed with the boom of companies calling the area home, water is practically non-existent.
In the past decade alone, Corpus Christi has brought in more than $57.4 billion in industrial investment, per the 2024 city report reviewed by WSJ.
Elon Musk's Tesla opened a lithium refinery there while LyondellBasell, a chemical plant, increased its capacity of an ethylene factory there by 50 percent.
On top of that, OxyChem, a chemical maker, and an unnamed Mexican business, built a $1.5 billion ethylene plant.
Exxon and Saudi Basic Industries Corp. have crafted a $7 billion plastics facility in the city.
Presently, the drought levels are the lowest they've ever been, and mixed with the boom of companies calling the area home, water is practically non-existent. (Pictured: People gathered at the Port of Corpus Christi)
That plant uses about 13 million gallons of water a day, an insider told the outlet. That accounts for about 13 percent of all of Corpus Christi's water supply, former CEO of the city's water utility Drew Molly, said.
In total, Molly, who recently resigned, said about eight companies tap into the city's water supply.
Molly said: 'Every city wants to grow. I think the City of Corpus Christi was doing it in a reasonable way, but never had imagined that there would be a drought of this proportion.'
Because the city has long expected the worst could happen, it's been trying to build the first ever large-scale desalination plant in the US.
The plant is meant to take seawater from the Gulf and turn it into 36 million gallons of potable drinking water by 2028.
Initially, the introduction of the plant was meant to buy the city some time, but with the new additions of monstrous facilities and financial fall throughs, it might not be enough.
The city obtained permits for $757 million in low-interest loans from the Lone Star State for the plant, but the entire plan was cut off in September when the estimated cost rose to about $1.2 billion.
At that point, Corpus Christi had already borrowed $235 million from the state. The city also spent around $50 million on the project itself.
Some are for the new plant and others don't see how it could make the situation any better.
'Once desalination is completed, then there’s no way of stopping industry,' Sylvia Campos, a local council member who is not for the plant, said.
She believes it would do exactly what the city is trying to avoid - benefit the large companies that are taking over.
Existing industry customers anticipate water cuts will start in November 2026, leading Corpus Christi into a water emergency.
Exxon is trying to pivot to alternative water sources, a company spokesperson told WSJ.
She said the plant was made to recycle water and that it will do everything it can to reduce water use.
Other companies are looking into their very own groundwater to offset possible curtailments, Molly stated.
1 comment:
Johannesburg functioned thru a nasty drought for a long time. Only hospitals had a reliable water supply. People had portapotties at home because they couldn't get enough water to flush toilets. It was very disruptive.
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