Laredo Confronts Drought and Water Shortage Without a Wealth of OptionsInside Climate NewsMedia Coverage

Last year, Laredo’s 50-year water plan assessed that the city’s growth would exceed its water supply by 2040. It proposed a slate of expensive projects: pipelines running up to 150 miles to aquifers in nearby counties. (Laredo has no groundwater of its own.)

“We had this 2040 timeline in our heads, then with this year’s drought things just got out of control so quickly,” said Tannya Benavides, advocacy director with Commission Shift, an oil and gas watchdog in Laredo. “We have to stop ignoring the warning signs.”

Advocates agree, thrice weekly lawn watering will not be what carries Laredo into the future.