Sgt. Schultz said:
YouBet said:
Captain Pablo said:
Ag87H2O said:
American Hardwood said:
oldord said:
The entire Houston Bay Area. At least 10'feet in some areas. Interesting stories how when they were drawing down the initial oil and gas plays in the areas, there were actually catastrophic land falls that wrecked rigs and people felt the ground sink
I missed this reply. What happened in Houston bears no resemblance to the groundwater plan for Evangeline. The density of wells is nothing close to what happened there.
Exactly. Comparing what happened in East Harris/Northern Galveston counties and the ship channel area back in the 1950s through the mid to late 1980s is apples to grapefruit. That subsidence was due to over pumping the aquifer because the Houston water supply during that time was 90% groundwater, and all the refineries along the ship channel in particular during that era were all pumping massive wells 24/7.
While groundwater pumpage needs to be monitored, the Corpus Christi situation is nowhere near what caused the issues in Houston. There is still plenty of capacity in the Evangeline to meet the current needs, especially if desalination plants are on the way.
Ag87H2O said:
American Hardwood said:
oldord said:
The entire Houston Bay Area. At least 10'feet in some areas. Interesting stories how when they were drawing down the initial oil and gas plays in the areas, there were actually catastrophic land falls that wrecked rigs and people felt the ground sink
I missed this reply. What happened in Houston bears no resemblance to the groundwater plan for Evangeline. The density of wells is nothing close to what happened there.
Exactly. Comparing what happened in East Harris/Northern Galveston counties and the ship channel area back in the 1950s through the mid to late 1980s is apples to grapefruit. That subsidence was due to over pumping the aquifer because the Houston water supply during that time was 90% groundwater, and all the refineries along the ship channel in particular during that era were all pumping massive wells 24/7.
While groundwater pumpage needs to be monitored, the Corpus Christi situation is nowhere near what caused the issues in Houston. There is still plenty of capacity in the Evangeline to meet the current needs, especially if desalination plants are on the way.
You don't need ground water. The lakes are about to have plenty of water and it will last long enough to get the desalinization plants up and running
They are 6-8 weeks from even discussing desal again the last time I saw an update. There is zero reason to believe they will approve the desal in September when they reconvene to discuss.
They will squander this again most likely.
This!
Corpus Christi has absolutely the worst city government. Its much like Congress in that the factions want the other to fail miserably, no matter how good of an idea is. You have one group trying to remove the mayor when state and federal LEO have investigated her and there is no there, there. Yet they keep trying.
Meanwhile, the water situation is dire, even with the temporary reprieve. Unless Choke Canyon fills up completely, a water shortage is always a possibility. They argue over desalination plant locations. They chased away a private desal venture because they wouldn't control it.
Council is now trying to get their terms extended, pay increased, and make it harder for council members to be removed. No one has a vision and petty politics rule the day. No wonder the area is 10-15 years behind the rest of the state.
Reminds me of my time in Beeville. A private venture wanted to build a desal plant using the aquifer the city previously pumped fresh water from but pulled in brackish water decades prior. Had everything in place and would fund and operate the plant for a set period of time, with a defined maintenance program, then turn it over to the city.
Now you'd think concerns over the cost of taking over the plant years down the road would be the concern.
No... A coalition of private land owners headed by a former mayor that no longer lived in town led the charge to kill it. They, along with a failing business development authority that ran the old Navy Base, wanted to lease water rights SE of town at the base and from private land owners. Oh the claims that the desal plant would kill one mans cows because they drink from that creek. The very same creek the wastewater treatment goes into, so at worst the two facilities would blend each other out.
15 years later I think they are again looking at desal. The pipe from Sweeny Switch (upper most end of Lake Corpus Christi is now over 40 years old and might as well be window screen. I was banging the drum for its replacement or rehabilitation over a decade ago when I was on the WSD board.
But... "We must protect the fixed income rate payer. We cannot do anything that raises water rates!"
My water bill in Spring... Non-MUD, base wtaer bill... is 2.5x what I paid in Beeville.