Your voice is the only thing that moves them.
Here’s what’s actually being debated right now in Corpus Christi, Austin, and Washington on the issues hitting your home — water, taxes, insurance, and disaster recovery — and exactly how to tell your elected leaders what you think.
This is a non-partisan guide. We’re not telling you what to think. We’re telling you what’s on the table — so when you call, write, or show up, you sound like someone who knows what they’re talking about. Because you will.
What’s happening at City Hall & in your water district.
Local action moves the fastest. The decisions being made right now at the Corpus Christi City Council, the Nueces County Commissioners Court, the Port Aransas City Council, and Water Control & Improvement District No. 4 will shape what your water bill looks like next year — and whether the taps still run by next fall.
25% Mandatory Water Curtailment Proposal
Corpus Christi’s city council is weighing a plan to require all water customers — residential, commercial, and industrial — to cut use by 25%. Includes a $4 surcharge per 1,000 gallons for residential customers using more than 7,000 gallons per month. About 13% of households currently exceed that threshold.
If passed, your water bill could go up sharply — especially if you have a yard, a pool, or a larger household. Industrial users would pay the same surcharge after 55,000 gallons. Many residents are pushing for stricter industrial caps before residential surcharges kick in.
Inner Harbor Desalination Plant — Revived
The City Council voted 7-1 in late March 2026 to begin negotiations with Corpus Christi Polymers to purchase desalinated water from a privately owned facility. A previous municipal desal proposal was canceled in September 2025 after costs ballooned from $750 million to $1.3 billion. New plants likely won’t be online before 2028.
Whichever path the city takes, your water rates will likely rise. The question on the table: who pays, how much, how fast — and whether industrial users who were promised this water years ago should help cover the cost.
Harbor Island Seawater Desalination Plant
A 100-million-gallon-per-day seawater desal plant proposed for Harbor Island, at the edge of Port Aransas. The Port of Corpus Christi approved a 31-acre lease to the Nueces River Authority in July 2025. The Port Aransas Conservancy and many local residents have organized opposition over concerns about brine discharge, fisheries, and ship channel ecology.
If you live in Port A or fish the bay, this is the biggest local decision of the next two years. If you live in 78418 or Corpus Christi, the question is whether this plant can be built fast enough — and safely enough — to matter when the reservoirs run out.
Port Aransas Alternate Water Supply
The water district that serves Port Aransas held a special meeting April 30, 2026 to discuss acquiring an alternate water source via Seven Seas Water Group, including brackish groundwater wells and a small desal plant. A new shallow well came online in March 2025. The goal: reduce Port A’s 75% dependence on Corpus Christi water.
If you live on Mustang Island, this is your water district. Their decisions affect your rates and your supply more directly than anything at City Hall. Their board meetings are public.
HB 30 — Disaster Property Tax Adjustments
Effective January 2026. After hurricanes or floods, counties can no longer raise property tax rates above the voter-approval rate without an election unless the increase is tied directly to documented recovery costs. Closes a loophole that previously allowed counties to raise rates after disasters without voter approval.
More transparency on disaster-related tax increases — but also tighter limits on what the county can do quickly after a storm. Worth knowing before the next hurricane season.
What lawmakers in Austin already passed — and what’s coming next.
2025 was a landmark year at the Capitol. Voters approved historic property tax cuts and a $20 billion water investment. But many of the implementation details — including how that water money gets spent — are still being decided. The 90th Legislature convenes in January 2027, but the work is happening now.
$20 Billion Texas Water Fund
Texas voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 4 on November 4, 2025, dedicating $1 billion per year for 20 years (2027–2047) to the Texas Water Fund. Funds will be split between developing new water supplies (desalination, reservoirs, water reuse, out-of-state acquisition) and repairing aging infrastructure. The Texas Water Development Board administers the fund.
This is the biggest water investment in Texas history. But $20 billion is a fraction of the estimated $154–174 billion needed over the next 50 years. How the Texas Water Development Board prioritizes Coastal Bend projects vs. inland projects directly affects whether Corpus Christi gets help in time.
Homestead Exemption Increase to $140,000
Texas voters approved an increase in the homestead exemption for school district property taxes from $100,000 to $140,000 (and $150,000 for seniors). Builds on the 2023 increase from $40,000 to $100,000. Applied to tax years beginning January 1, 2025.
If you own your home and have filed for homestead exemption, you’ll see lower school district property taxes starting with your 2026 bill. If you haven’t filed for homestead exemption — do it. It’s free, and the deadline is April 30 each year.
TWIA Funding Reform (Windstorm Insurance)
Restructures how the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association — the insurer of last resort for coastal homes — gets funded. Includes a state-funded financing arrangement repaid by statewide catastrophe surcharges on certain property and casualty policies. TWIA insures roughly 285,000 properties on the Texas coast.
If you own a home in Nueces, Aransas, or Kleberg County, you probably know TWIA. This reform should improve TWIA’s financial stability, but rate pressures aren’t going away. After Hurricane Beryl drained TWIA’s catastrophe reserve fund, premium pressure is real.
Ban on Mandatory Home + Auto Insurance Bundling
Prohibits insurance companies from forcing customers to bundle their home and auto policies with the same insurer or affiliate. Gives consumers more flexibility to shop separately for the best rates on each.
You can now refuse to bundle if it’s better for your wallet — useful in coastal counties where home insurance is expensive but auto might be cheaper elsewhere.
Insurance Denial Disclosure Requirement
Requires insurance companies to give policyholders a written statement explaining why a policy was declined, canceled, or non-renewed. The Texas Department of Insurance will track and report the reasons being given.
If you’ve ever had a homeowners or windstorm policy dropped without a clear reason, this is for you. You now have a legal right to a written explanation — useful for appeals and for shopping for replacement coverage.
$174 Billion 50-Year Water Plan
The Texas Water Development Board released its draft 2027 State Water Plan on April 16, 2026. Projects a potential 5.8 million acre-feet annual water shortage by 2080 if no action is taken. Recommends approximately 6,700 water management strategies across roughly 3,000 projects. Includes 10 legislative recommendations heading into the 2027 session.
This is the master plan that will shape every Coastal Bend water project for the next two decades. Public comment is open now. If desalination, conservation, environmental flows, or aging-pipe replacement matter to you — say so, in writing, on the record.
What’s at stake in D.C. — and why it lands hard on the Coastal Bend.
Federal water and disaster funding flows to Texas through programs that are up for reauthorization right now. If Washington pulls back, Texas state money — even with Prop 4 — won’t fill the gap. Your two U.S. Senators and your member of Congress (TX-27 or TX-34) are the people who decide.
$50 Billion Bipartisan Water Infrastructure Funding
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act’s $50 billion water infrastructure allocation expires in September 2026. Congressional reauthorization will be critical for cities like Corpus Christi seeking federal support for desalination, lead pipe replacement, and water system upgrades.
If Congress doesn’t reauthorize, Coastal Bend communities will compete for a much smaller federal pie — at the exact moment they need to build desal capacity. This is the single most important federal water deadline of the year.
FY 2026 Federal Water Operations Funding
Includes $64.6 million for the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program providing flexible, low-cost loans for wastewater, drinking water, and stormwater projects. Texas typically receives about 8% of the drinking water State Revolving Fund and 4.4% of the clean water SRF.
This is how federal money actually reaches your local utility — through SRF loans and WIFIA loans. Pflugerville, TX received $176 million in WIFIA loans in late 2025 alone. The CC region needs to be applying for these dollars right now.
State Revolving Fund Reauthorization
Congress must reauthorize both the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and the Clean Water State Revolving Fund — the workhorses of federal water funding to states. Hearings and committee actions are happening now.
SRFs fund the boring-but-critical work: replacing 100-year-old pipes, upgrading wastewater treatment, fixing the leaks losing millions of gallons a year. Without reauthorization, your local utility loses access to its most important borrowing tool.
NFIP Reform & Reauthorization
The National Flood Insurance Program — required for many mortgages in flood zones — has been operating on a series of short-term extensions for years. Long-term reauthorization remains stalled in Congress. Premium increases under Risk Rating 2.0 continue to hit coastal homeowners hard.
If you have a mortgage in a flood zone — including much of Flour Bluff, Padre Island, and Port Aransas — you depend on NFIP. Premium hikes and short-term reauthorizations create real instability for coastal homeowners.
Hurricane Harvey Recovery & Future Disaster Funding
Coastal Bend communities are still spending Hurricane Harvey recovery dollars — primarily through the Texas General Land Office’s Hurricane Harvey Coastal Bend allocation of roughly $462 million. Future federal disaster funding decisions will determine how the region rebuilds from the next storm.
The recovery you’re still seeing in Port Aransas eight years after Harvey is partly federal money slowly working through the system. How Congress structures disaster aid matters enormously for the next storm — which, statistically, is coming.
Five things that work better than a yard sign.
Your elected officials hear from lobbyists every day. They almost never hear from you. That asymmetry is the whole game. Here’s how to fix it — in the order that actually moves things.
Show up in person at a public meeting.
Three minutes at a city council, county commission, or water district public-comment period is worth more than 100 emails. Your name and face go on the record. Other voters see you. The press sometimes notices. Coming up: CC City Council meets Tuesdays. Port Aransas Council and WCID No. 4 meeting schedules are on their websites. The Texas Water Development Board takes public comment on the draft State Water Plan — submit before the comment period closes.
Call. Don’t email.
Calls get logged by staff and reported to the elected official with weekly tallies. Most offices receive only a handful of calls on any given issue. Five calls on the same bill from constituents in the district can register as a “wave.” Be polite, identify yourself by ZIP code, name the specific bill, and say what you want them to do. 90 seconds. That’s it.
Write a real letter — not a form letter.
Personal stories beat talking points. “My water bill went up $80 last month and I’m a retiree on fixed income” lands harder than a policy paragraph. Keep it under one page. Include your address. Mailed letters get more attention than emails because they’re rarer — but a personal email beats a form-letter email every time.
Submit written public comment.
Almost every state agency — Texas Water Development Board, Texas Department of Insurance, TWIA, TCEQ — has a formal public comment process. Your written comments become part of the official record. Boards and commissioners read them. Right now: the draft 2027 State Water Plan is open for comment, and TWIA accepts public comment at every board meeting via PublicComment@twia.org.
Bring a neighbor.
One person at a meeting is one person. Three people from the same neighborhood with the same concern is a movement. Local officials measure issues by intensity, not just count — and a small group that consistently shows up gets results. Find a local advocacy group already doing the work (Port Aransas Conservancy, neighborhood associations, Flour Bluff civic groups) and join them.
Vote in every election — especially the small ones.
School board, water district, drainage district, hospital district — these races are sometimes decided by a handful of votes. The people elected to these positions make the day-to-day decisions about your water, your schools, and your taxes. Local primary turnout in Texas is often under 10%. Yours matters more than you think.
The people who actually decide.
Find your level. Pick up the phone. (For specific names and current phone numbers, search “[office name] contact” — these change with each election.)
Local
City, county, & water district
- Corpus Christi City Councilcctexas.com — districts & at-large
- Port Aransas City Councilcityofportaransas.org
- Nueces County Commissionersnuecesco.com
- Nueces Co. WCID No. 4ncwcid4.org · Port A water district
- Flour Bluff ISD Boardflourbluffschools.net
- Port Aransas ISD Boardport-aransas.k12.tx.us
- Port of Corpus Christi Comm.portofcc.com — Harbor Island desal
State
Texas Legislature & agencies
- Your TX State Senatorfyi.capitol.texas.gov — find by address
- Your TX State Representativefyi.capitol.texas.gov — find by address
- Governor’s Officegov.texas.gov · 512-463-2000
- Texas Water Development Boardtwdb.texas.gov · public comment open
- Texas Department of Insurancetdi.texas.gov
- TWIA Public CommentPublicComment@twia.org
- TCEQtceq.texas.gov · environmental issues
Federal
U.S. Senate, House & agencies
- Sen. John Cornyncornyn.senate.gov · 202-224-2934
- Sen. Ted Cruzcruz.senate.gov · 202-224-5922
- U.S. Rep. TX-27house.gov — find your rep
- U.S. Rep. TX-34house.gov — find your rep
- U.S. EPA Region 6epa.gov/aboutepa/epa-region-6
- FEMAfema.gov · disaster recovery
- Army Corps — Galveston Dist.swg.usace.army.mil
Don’t know what to say? Start here.
Three short scripts you can adapt. Replace the bracketed parts with your details. Be respectful. Be specific. Be brief.
Phone call to a council member
~ 60–90 seconds
Email to a state legislator
~ 150 words
I’m a constituent in [city, ZIP] writing about [the implementation of Proposition 4 water funding]. As someone who [lives on the Coastal Bend / has watched our reservoirs hit 8% / pays a property tax bill that rose 22% last year], I want to make sure you hear directly from me on this.
My specific ask: [Please prioritize Coastal Bend desalination and infrastructure projects in the TWDB funding queue, and ensure environmental flow protections are included in any seawater desal permits.]
Thank you for representing this district. I’d appreciate a response.
Sincerely,
[Your full name and address]”
Public comment at a meeting
~ 3 minutes max
I want the council to know that [my family’s water bill, my neighbors’ insurance premiums, the bay we fish in] all depend on what you decide. Specifically, I’m asking you to [delay the vote until the brine discharge study is complete / require independent environmental review / hold a town hall in Port Aransas before final approval].
Thank you for your service and for hearing me out.”
Written public comment to an agency
Becomes part of public record
I am submitting public comment on the [Draft 2027 State Water Plan].
As a resident of [Corpus Christi / Port Aransas / Nueces County], I want the board to consider that [our region is facing a Stage 3 water emergency right now, not in 2080]. The plan should [prioritize near-term funding for Coastal Bend infrastructure, require environmental impact safeguards on coastal desalination, and include climate-adjusted hydrological baselines in supply forecasting].
Thank you for the opportunity to comment.
[Name, address, date]”