A small South Texas city is urgently seeking alternative drinking water sources due to a severe drought that risks exhausting its main supply.

Mathis usually relies on Lake Corpus Christi for drinking water. However, worsening drought conditions could lower water levels too much for safe extraction, according to Mathis City Manager Cedric Davis.

“We’re not going to be completely out of water, but it will be difficult to get clear water as we’ll also be drawing up mud,” Davis said.

This mud could harm the city’s filtration and water treatment systems, he noted. Mathis has about 4,300 residents, as per 2020 U.S. Census Bureau data.

The Texas situation underscores a rising issue in drought-hit areas globally, as climate change shifts rainfall patterns, worsens droughts, and diminishes safe drinking water availability.

In 2023, New Orleans also faced a drinking water crisis when the drought-stricken Mississippi River’s low levels allowed salt water to move upriver into intake facilities.

Last year, persistent drought and years of low rainfall pushed reservoirs in Mexico City to historically low levels, triggering a severe water shortage in the most populous city in North America.

South Texas has been in the grip of a yearslong dry spell, with much of the region in “moderate” or “severe” drought, as classified by the U.S. Drought Monitor, which releases weekly color-coded maps to show the extent and intensity of drought nationwide.

The unusually dry conditions have caused Lake Corpus Christi’s water levels to fall.

“We’ve not had enough rain to replenish the lakes and reservoirs of South Texas,” Davis said, adding that several cities and smaller communities in the area are now having to look for emergency solutions.

Davis said current projections suggest that the lake’s levels could be too low by late December. As such, the city is attempting to dig two emergency wells to keep drinking water flowing into Mathis.

The project hasn’t yet broken ground, but Davis said he is hoping to fast-track the permitting process and leasing agreement with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. If all goes according to plan, digging could begin by the end of October, he said.

“If everything matches up and we can get the wells in by the end of December, we’re going to be fine,” Davis said.

Still, city officials are considering other backup measures just in case, including costly desalination plants and the possibility of treating and reusing wastewater.

“We’re leaving no stone unturned,” Davis said.