In South Texas, a town struggles for water

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

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.