27/09/2025
A small city in South Texas is rushing to find other sources of drinking water as a severe drought continues to dry up its main supply.
The city of Mathis usually gets its drinking water from Lake Corpus Christi, but the drought is lowering the water levels so much that it may soon be unsafe to collect clean water, said Mathis City Manager Cedric Davis.
“We are not completely running out of water,” Davis explained. “The problem is that as the lake gets lower, we will be pulling mud along with the water, making it hard to get clear water.”
The mud could also harm the city’s filtration and treatment systems, he added. Mathis has a population of about 4,300 people, based on 2020 U.S. Census Bureau data.
This crisis in Texas shows a larger problem in dry regions across the country and the world, as climate change changes rainfall patterns, makes droughts worse, and reduces the amount of safe drinking water.
In 2023, New Orleans faced a water crisis when extremely low levels in the drought-hit Mississippi River allowed salt water to move into water supply facilities.
Last year, long drought and years of little rainfall pushed Mexico City’s reservoirs to record low levels, leading to a severe water shortage in the largest city in North America.
South Texas has been suffering through a long dry period. Much of the area is in “moderate” or “severe” drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, which issues weekly maps showing the extent of drought across the nation.
The unusually dry weather has already caused water levels in Lake Corpus Christi to drop.