Greg Abbott Blasted Corpus Christi for Its Water Crisis. A River Authority He Has Power Over Is Falling Apart.

https://www.propublica.org/article/greg-abbott-nueces-river-authority?utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=majorinvestigations&utm_content=secondary The Nueces River Authority is working on a project that could expand the Corpus Christi region’s water supply. But the Texas governor has done little to address the agency’s financial problems, despite appointing every member of its board. by Rachel Denny Clow, KRIS 6 News Co-published with KRIS 6 News and The Texas Tribune Greg Abbott Blasted Corpus Christi for Its Water Crisis. A River Authority He Has Power Over Is Falling Apart. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott responded with fury after Corpus Christi officials announced in March that the region could face unprecedented restrictions as its water supply dried up, threatening to “micromanage” the city after its plans to build a seawater desalination plant stalled. Even as Abbott was demanding that Corpus Christi get its act together, another agency — whose entire board Abbott appoints — was also coming undone. In late June, board members of the Nueces River Authority learned that funding for a desalination plant the agency hopes to build, separate from the city’s, is months from running out. Additionally, the agency was spending more than it was taking in, and other contracts that had kept the authority financially afloat had been canceled. Although the river authority’s project is a critical part of efforts to expand the region’s water supply, so far, the governor hasn’t threatened to take over the agency’s day-to-day operations. Political scientists and water policy researchers who reviewed the situation told KRIS 6 News that Abbott’s decision to pressure Corpus Christi while leaving the river authority to address its problems largely on its own reflects a selective use of power. In a written statement to KRIS 6 News for this story, Abbott again placed responsibility on both the Corpus Christi City Council and the river authority board but did not address most of the specific questions asked.