Corpus Christi Water Crisis. Abbott Gave Exxon $1.2B as the City Runs Dry

Republicans have controlled Texas for 30 years. In February 2021, the state grid nearly collapsed, leaving 4.5 million homes without power, killing hundreds of Texans, and coming four minutes and 37 seconds from total failure. Six months later, Abbott said: “Everything that needed to be done was done to fix the power grid in Texas.” ERCOT issued a conservation emergency the following summer. The grid still isn’t connected to the national network, still isn’t fully weatherized, and the deregulated market that let energy companies overcharge by $16 billion during the storm was never fixed. Corpus Christi supplies water to 500,000 people across seven counties. In December 2024, combined reservoir storage fell below 20%. Seven surrounding cities have issued disaster declarations since April 21, 2026, including Taft, Ingleside, Aransas Pass, and Alice. City staff warned in a 2019 presentation that a desalination plant needed to be operational by 2023 to keep up with incoming industrial demand. It was never built. Abbott gave ExxonMobil and Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, 70% owned by Saudi Aramco, $1.2 billion in property tax breaks. Their joint plant opened in 2022 and consumes 25 million gallons of drinking-quality water per day, equal to all Corpus Christi residents combined. Residents face mandatory restrictions. The plant pays 31 cents per 1,000 gallons to keep running as usual. The mayor of Taft organized a town hall for her 3,000 residents about the water crisis. Nobody from Corpus Christi showed up. Neither did any county or state officials. Abbott took $4.6 million in campaign contributions from energy companies while their plants drew down a water supply that half a million Texans depend on. Mandate immediate water use cuts for all industrial users in the Corpus Christi region. Fund and fast-track the desalination plant without passing the full cost to residents. Revoke the 31-cents-per-thousand-gallon exemption that lets industry ignore drought restrictions. Require water infrastructure to be in place before new industrial facilities receive water commitments. Connect ERCOT to the national grid. Texans pay taxes for a government that protects them, not the companies that are draining them dry.