Region N - Coastal Bend
2001 Regional Water Plan Overview
Basic Plan Facts
- Population is expected to grow by 75% between 2000 and 2050
- Total capital cost of proposed water supply measures: $107.2 million
- No new reservoirs proposed
What's at Issue?
The Coastal Bend Region is home to a productive coastline that supports an abundance of natural resources and industries, including fishing and travel. The bays and estuaries are home to a host of wildlife including fish, shrimp, blue crabs, and endangered whooping cranes. One of the challenges this region faces is protecting freshwater inflows to the economically important bays.
Action Items
Here are some of the items the Region N Planning Group must address.
Conservation and Drought Management
For conservation and drought management, the plan needs to...
- Reassess water consumption levels in the region and base planning only on true usage rates. The 2001 regional plan based demand projections for Corpus Christi on the use rate of 179 gallons per capita per day. The 1996 average rate was only 141 gallons per day.
- Incorporate advanced conservation measures into the water demand projections for all municipalities. This was done in the 2001 regional plan for only 17 of the 31 cities in the region.
- Develop a Drought Management Plan for the region.
Environmental Flows
To secure the protection of flows for fish and wildlife, the plan needs to...
- Evaluate alternative water supply strategies for effects on environmental flows. For example the Choke Canyon-Lake Corpus Christi pipeline would reduce flows in the reaches of the Frio and Nueces Rivers between the two reservoirs, a portion of which the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department recognized as having "unique ecological value."
- Ensure that adequate freshwater inflows to the bays are protected in order to sustain healthy estuaries and the local industries of tourism and fishing.
- Discuss how environmental flows are affected by current projects and existing water permits.
- Identify major springs in the area and discuss their impact on fish and wildlife.
- Designate stream segments in the region that meet the criteria as having "unique ecological value". No segments were designated in the 2001 regional plan. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department recommends 4 segments for designation in this region.
Economics
To ensure that only the most economically sound water supply strategies are implemented, the plan needs to...
- Compare the costs and benefits of the supply alternatives in a consistent and reasonable manner.
Additional Resources
Analysis
The National Wildlife Federation analyzed the initially prepared plan using their Principles for an Environmentally Sound Regional Water Plan. Please contact us for more information about this analysis.
Region N