CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — As seems to be the case lately, the Corpus Christi City Council spent a part of their meeting Tuesday on the topic of water.
Not only is there an ongoing effort to update the drought contingency plan, but council members also learned that residents may soon be seeing a temporary change in the water we drink.
The key word in this equation is permanganate, and if you’ve never heard of it, you’re not alone. It’s an oxidant that is used to control the taste and the smell of our tap water, and right now, there’s less than a two-week supply left.
An explosion and warehouse fire at a chemical manufacturing facility in Illinois will have ramifications for water treatment across the United States – including here in Corpus Christi.
Carus Chemical is the only company in the entire Western Hemisphere that makes permanganate.
Although the company hopes to be back up and running again within 90 days, it leaves cities like Corpus Christi scrambling to try to find another source for the chemical, perhaps in India or China.
City officials told 3NEWS that our water is still safe and that permanganate is not a requirement of the TCEQ, but more of a water “enhancer.”
Still, it’s temporary absence may be noticed.
“Our Corpus Christi residents are used to it, and so if it's not in the water, people may notice a difference in the appearance, taste, or smell of the water. It has a more earthy tone to it," said Corpus Christi City Manager Peter Zanoni.
The city currently has a 13-day supply of the chemical.
Also on Tuesday's Council agenda, a briefing on drought contingency and conservation initiatives, something they could be voting on in two weeks, as city leaders look at additional ways to conserve water in our region.
With the combined storage levels of Lake Corpus Christi and Choke Canyon Reservoir sitting at just under 43 percent and dropping, the Stage 1 Water Restrictions we’ve seen since last July will remain in place for the foreseeable future.
The council will now be considering recommendations that include better ways to educate and communicate with the public on how to save water, and also triggering the drought restriction stages earlier than before.
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