19 Oct Corpus Christi Voters to Decide Whether to End Industrial Drought Surcharge Exemption

Voters in Corpus Christi will weigh in Nov. 3 on whether to end a program that lets the biggest industrial water users pay a fee in place of drought surcharges, per local news reports. Proposition B, called the Fair Water Amendment, would write a ban on such exemptions into the city charter. Early voting runs Oct. 19 through Oct. 30.

A previous City Council created the program in 2018. It is voluntary and open only to large-volume users, who pay 31 cents per 1,000 gallons every month whether or not there is a drought. That brings in about $6 million a year for water supply projects. The city’s Drought Contingency Plan calls for surcharges starting at Stage 2, but none has ever been charged to a Corpus Christi water customer.

Corpus Christi spent nearly 600 days under Stage 3 restrictions, which the city declared Dec. 16, 2024, after combined reservoir levels fell below 20%. By Jan. 12, 2026, Choke Canyon Reservoir and Lake Corpus Christi together had dropped to 10%, the lowest the city has recorded for the two. Stage 3 banned all outdoor watering of landscaped areas, even with a handheld hose, and barred washing vehicles at home, though commercial car washes could stay open. Watering a foundation by hand or drip was still allowed on a resident’s assigned day, and citations began Jan. 1, 2025. After a rainy July pushed combined reservoir levels above 30%, according to City Manager Peter Zanoni, the city eased to Stage 2 on Aug. 4 and to Stage 1 on Aug. 27, which allows sprinkler watering once a week on an assigned day, before 10 a.m. or after 6 p.m.

If it passes, Proposition B would amend Article IX of the charter to bar the city from exempting large industrial users from drought surcharges or water-use cutbacks once a drought stage is declared. It would also set industrial rates: no surcharge at Stage 1, $3 per 1,000 gallons over a 12.842 million-gallon baseline at Stage 2, $6 at Stage 3 and $12 in a water emergency. A charter provision tied to a five-year notice period would delay it until 2031.

The measure began as a petition with about 12,700 verified signatures, and council voted Aug. 11 to send it to voters.

Supporters say industry should pay its fair share when water runs short. The Coastal Action Network, whose members include Chispa Texas, Coastal Watch Association and Hillcrest Residents Association, and the Nueces County Democratic Party have endorsed it. Armon Alex, who directs the campaign, said surcharge revenue would replace the $6 million the fee brings in. Isabel Araiza, a campaign co-lead, described the exemption as a 2018 rule that only high-volume industrial users could use, and said the issue shouldn’t split along party lines.

Opponents include city officials and others who say losing the fee could endanger future water projects. Councilman Roland Barrera, who voted to keep the measure off the ballot, said he is open to higher industrial surcharges at certain drought stages. His concern is that if the program ends, debt payments and infrastructure expenses would fall on all ratepayers, residents included. He also expects a legal challenge. Councilman Gil Hernandez voted yes since organizers followed the charter process but considers it bad policy, saying it overlooks the plan’s own triggers for surcharges. Councilman Mark Scott also spoke against it.

The Nueces County Republican Party, the Coastal Bend Industry Association and the new Citizens for Responsible Policy PAC oppose it too. In a Sept. 28 release, the Republican Party cited doubts about enforceability and warned that fixed rates in the charter could lock the city into rules that may not fit later.

A single main source gave the campaign $125,000 between Jan. 1 and June 30, per the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Texas Campaign for the Environment backs the effort through a sister nonprofit. An Oct. 5 report covering July 1 through Sept. 24 lists $21,750 from TCE through the Fair Water Political Action Committee and $40,000 from the Green Advocacy Project.

Del Mar College political science professor Paul Gottemoller told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times that outside environmental backing is unusual in Corpus Christi, and in his 17 years there he couldn’t remember a citizen-led local initiative this large. He said the outcome is unclear and may turn on frustration with city government. Political analyst Dr. Bill Chriss told KIII that putting policy in the charter makes it permanent, so future leaders would need another amendment to change it instead of council adjusting an ordinance.