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Region N - Coastal Bend

2005 Regional Water Plan Overview

Regional Facts

Major Cities	Corpus Christi
Population: 2000	569,292
Population: 2060	885,665
Total Water Use: 2000	205,936 Acre-Feet
Total Water Use: 2060	308,577 Acre-Feet
Primary Rivers	Nueces, Frio
Major Aquifers	Gulf Coast, Carrizo-Wilcox
Annual Precipitation	24-36 Inches
Net Evaporation	40-52 Inches

Basic Plan Facts

Population is expected to grow by 63.7% between 2000 and 2060
Total project cost of proposed water supply measures: 1.36 Billion dollars
Projected Deficit: 46,084 Acre-feet
Two new reservoirs proposed: Lake Texana Stage II (Located within Region P) and the Off-Channel Reservoir Near Lake Corpus Christi

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.

Given this challenge and the fact that the Coastal Bend region is in a relatively dry area of the state it only makes sense for the region to plan to use water as efficiently as possible. Unfortunately the group's current water conservation target is not as strong as it should be. In addition, the plan overcompensates for projected demands by identifying strategies to meet over four times the projected needs, thereby creating projects that are unnecessary and potentially damaging to the environment.

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...

Revise their water conservation goal. The group's current water conservation target-a recommendation that water user groups that use more than 165 gallons per capita per day reduce consumption by 15%-is not nearly as strong as it should be.

Environmental Flows
To secure the protection of flows for fish and wildlife, the plan needs to...

Compare the costs of proposed water supply options in a consistent and reasonable manner. This should include municipal, agricultural and industrial water conservation, which is often the least expensive (and least environmentally damaging) supply option.

Groundwater Management
To ensure the long term viability of the state's groundwater resources, the plan needs to...

Adopt a clear definition of "sustainable management" and of the concept of "near sustainable management" that is proposed for some of the region's aquifers.
Discuss the potential impacts from withdrawing and/or transferring water from the Capitan Reef aquifer and the Dell City area to El Paso County including any potential impacts to springflow in the 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.