Orange Grove water shortages threaten downtown businesses and economy

Orange Grove’s water problems have moved from the utility office to Main Street. At Katherine’s Flowers downtown, owner Edie Duncan said water is essential not just for keeping plants alive, but for keeping a small business alive, and she has begun shifting more of her shop toward gift items and shelf-stable products as the town faces worsening supply concerns.

Duncan’s warning lands in a town that depends entirely on the Evangeline/Goliad Sands Aquifer for drinking water, a source Orange Grove officials say has served the community for more than 90 years. The city, which has a population of roughly 1,000 to 1,200 and draws about 300,000 gallons of water per day, has said recent large-scale groundwater pumping in rural Nueces County has coincided with measurable changes in both water levels and water quality. A March 31 report said the aquifer dropped 17 feet after a March 19 event, while total dissolved solids climbed to 1,140, near the 1,200 level referenced in drinking-water standards discussed in reporting.

The economic ripple reaches well beyond a flower shop. Duncan said a restaurant, a coffee shop or any customer-facing storefront depends on water for basic operations, cleanliness and survival. In a small downtown, even modest restrictions or uncertainty can affect operating hours, inventory decisions and whether owners feel confident enough to hire. For businesses that rely on fresh stock, regular cleaning and steady foot traffic, a water shortage can quickly become a business-plan problem.

Orange Grove leaders have responded with a series of increasingly urgent steps. On April 3, city council voted to hire a hydrogeologist and environmental lawyers to help evaluate the town’s options as officials warned of a possible summer water crisis. On April 15, city leaders declared a local state of disaster to safeguard the community’s water sources, while continuing to monitor total dissolved solids and saying the water remained safe to drink for now.

The dispute has also become part of a wider regional fight over groundwater in the Coastal Bend. Corpus Christi began pumping millions of additional gallons per day from its wellfield in western Nueces County in March after emergency orders sped up groundwater permitting, and Orange Grove officials have said the new pumping is affecting local wells and water quality. Corpus Christi City Manager Peter Zanoni acknowledged that his office needs to return calls to cities including Orange Grove and Three Rivers that have filed disaster declarations. As nearby communities look for new wells, partnerships or treatment options, Orange Grove’s downtown businesses are confronting a harder question: whether the town’s water supply can still support the economy that depends on it.