Corpus Christi residents, including Encarnacion “Chon” Serna, oppose five proposed desalination plants set to discharge wastewater into the bay.
Local communities, especially Black and Hispanic neighborhoods, fear losing homes and facing increased environmental and health risks.
Desalination plants primarily benefit industrial operations, with little to no benefit for local residents' water needs.
Key quote:
“They don’t care about the people. They don’t care about our natural resources.”
— Encarnacion “Chon” Serna, retired chemical engineer
Why this matters:
Desalination, while a potential solution to water scarcity, is not without its controversies. The process is energy-intensive and often releases highly concentrated brine back into the ocean, which can harm marine life and disrupt delicate coastal habitats. For the people of Corpus Christi, these risks are too significant to overlook. They worry about the impact on the bay's water quality, which is crucial for local fisheries, tourism, and overall environmental health.
Among the many complex arguments over water in California, one particularly heated debate centers on whether the state should seek more drinking water from a plentiful but expensive source: the Pacific Ocean.
A report issued Monday urges a California coastal panel to deny a proposal to build a $1.4 billion desalination plant that would draw on the ocean to expand water sources in Southern California.
