A small city in South Texas is scrambling to find alternative sources of drinking water as severe drought grips the region and threatens to dry up its main supply.
The city of Mathis typically pumps its drinking water from Lake Corpus Christi, but worsening drought conditions are expected to plunge water levels too low to safely extract usable water, according to Mathis City Manager Cedric Davis.
“It’s not that we’re running out of water or we’re going to be completely dry,” Davis said. “It’s going to be difficult to pull clear water out of the lake because we’ll be pulling up mud with the water.”
All that mud could damage the city’s filtration and water treatment systems, he added. Mathis has a population of around 4,300 people, according to 2020 data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The situation in Texas highlights a growing problem in drought-prone parts of the country — and the world — as climate change alters precipitation patterns, intensifies drought and saps the availability of safe drinking water.
In 2023, the city of New Orleans faced a drinking water crisis after abnormally low levels in the drought-stricken Mississippi River caused salt water to encroach upriver into water intake facilities.
Last year, persistent drought and years of low rainfall pushed reservoirs in Mexico City to historically low levels, triggering a severe water shortage in the most populous city in North America.
South Texas has been in the grip of a yearslong dry spell, with much of the region in “moderate” or “severe” drought, as classified by the U.S. Drought Monitor, which releases weekly color-coded maps to show the extent and intensity of drought nationwide.
The unusually dry conditions have caused Lake Corpus Christi’s water levels to fall.
“We’ve not had enough rain to replenish the lakes and reservoirs of South Texas,” Davis said, adding that several cities and smaller communities in the area are now having to look for emergency solutions.
Davis said current projections suggest that the lake’s levels could be too low by late December. As such, the city is attempting to dig two emergency wells to keep drinking water flowing into Mathis.
The project hasn’t yet broken ground, but Davis said he is hoping to fast-track the permitting process and leasing agreement with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. If all goes according to plan, digging could begin by the end of October, he said.
“If everything matches up and we can get the wells in by the end of December, we’re going to be fine,” Davis said.
Still, city officials are considering other backup measures just in case, including costly desalination plants and the possibility of treating and reusing wastewater.
“We’re leaving no stone unturned,” Davis said.
