Regional water pact links Alice, Beeville, Mathis and Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi city leaders on Monday approved an Interlocal Cooperation Agreement that formally links Corpus Christi with Alice, Beeville and Mathis for shared engineering, technical resources and mutual aid on water and wastewater projects. The council vote on Jan. 14 put into practice a framework intended to coordinate system design, collaborative supply projects and interconnections across the region.

The agreement, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2026, renews annually and may be ended by any party with 60 days’ written notice. It responds directly to strains on regional water supplies amid ongoing drought conditions and sets the legal and operational structure for day-to-day cooperation and emergency response between the four municipalities.

Corpus Christi interim chief operating officer Nicholas Winkelmann framed the pact as a regional response to those supply pressures. "Given the ongoing drought conditions impacting water supplies, this agreement is a great example of regional collaboration and partnership," he said. The city will share engineering and technical capacity that smaller towns may lack, allowing projects to move forward with pooled expertise rather than each jurisdiction working in isolation.

For Jim Wells County residents, Alice’s role in the agreement is especially significant. Alice city manager Michael Esparza told the council his city has been working to cut dependence on shared supplies from Lake Corpus Christi. "We have built our system to be more self-sufficient and to significantly reduce our draw from Lake Corpus Christi," Esparza said, adding that Alice expects roughly a 90 percent reduction in its lake usage by the end of the first quarter of 2026. "This interlocal agreement gives us the structure to keep doing that, sharing experience, coordinating projects, and looking at water the way water really works, which is regionally."

Practical effects for residents could include smoother coordination when infrastructure projects or repairs are needed, faster mutual aid during pipeline breaks or treatment plant problems, and a more strategic approach to where supply and interconnection investments are made. By sharing technical staff and engineering plans, municipalities can avoid duplicating expensive studies and may accelerate work to bolster resilience against heat and drought that exacerbate demand.

The legal form of an interlocal cooperation agreement is a common tool for Texas cities to share services and resources, but its success will depend on follow-through: who leads joint projects, how costs are split, and how new interconnections are permitted and funded. For now, the pact provides a visible commitment to regional thinking about water resources.

For Jim Wells County residents, the immediate takeaway is a plan aimed at steadier water service and less strain on Lake Corpus Christi as local systems are made more self-sufficient and interlinked. Watch for announcements from city officials about specific projects, timelines and any public meetings where residents can review proposed interconnections or rate impacts.