CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — If you've turned on the tap in Corpus Christi over the past couple of days, you've probably made the same face everyone else has been making. The water tastes awful – some folks say it's like drinking soap, others describe it as having a dirt flavor that just won't quit.
So naturally, I had to wonder: how are local restaurants handling this mess? I stopped by a couple of spots around town to find out, and let me tell you, business owners are getting creative.
Southern Charm Keeps Calm and Carries On
Over in the Tuloso Midway area, Donna Williams owns Southern Charm, and she's taking the water situation in stride – mostly.
"Food preparation, it hasn't changed anything since the city said the water was safe to drink and to use," Williams told me. But when it comes to drinks? That's where things get interesting. "As far as drinks, we have boiled the water to try to make our tea to make it taste a little better. We have brought in bottled water, extra bottled water, and extra canned sodas to help with people that didn't want the tea in case it tasted funny to them."
Williams says her customers are handling it about as well as you'd expect. "Most customers are OK with it. Some, we have a lot that joke with us and they'll tell us, oh man, that tastes so dirty. Others, they'll complain about it. They'll try the tea, decide they don't want it, and they'll get a canned soda or a bottled water instead."
The restaurant has put up a sign letting people know they're aware of the problem, and Williams makes sure to give customers a heads up when they order tea. "We do remind them when they sit down if they order a tea, what preparations we're doing, and if they decide they don't want it, they try it, don't like it, we will get them a bottle of water or a can of soda instead."
Even though they're spending extra money on bottled water and canned sodas, Williams isn't passing those costs on to customers. "We're just charging our normal prices for our tea and our bottled water and our canned sodas."
HiHo Restaurant Feels the Pinch
On the city's Westside, Rick Garcia at HiHo Restaurant is dealing with the same problem, but he's feeling it in his wallet a bit more.
"I noticed about two days, the water tasted like dirty and so I thought it was the ice, but no, it's the water and so my customers are telling me the same thing," Garcia said. His solution? Stock up on bottled water – and fast.
"We went out and we bought more water bottled water. About 4 cases today," he explained. To put that in perspective, Garcia usually goes through just one case of bottled water per week. That's a pretty big jump in expenses.
Like Williams, Garcia is eating the extra costs rather than charging customers more. "We're kind of eating it. That's OK. Hopefully they'll get it fixed and we'll figure out the problem and move on."
But here's what really got to Garcia: the lack of communication from the city. "Nobody has notified us of the issue. I just with all these people coming in and everybody complaining, even myself, you know, I drink water all day long and I can't even drink the water. It tastes so bad."
A Customer's Take on the Situation
David Longoria was grabbing his usual coffee and water at HiHo when I caught up with him, and he perfectly summed up what a lot of people are feeling right now.
"I always get coffee and a glass of water and the waitress told me this morning, well, water has a bad taste to it. Are you sure you want the water? I said, well, bring me lots of lemon that way we can cure the water with a lemon. But even with the lemon, I had to buy a bottle of water and I never have to buy a bottle of water. So the water is real, real bad."
Longoria had some choice words for city leadership too: "I wish that the people in the city council would address this issue and not try to mess with our mayor who has done an outstanding job. Address the water issue, please."
What the City Has to Say About All This
When I reached out to city officials about the bad-tasting water, Corpus Christi Water (CCW) gave me the rundown on what's happening and what they're doing about it.
The good news? This isn't going to last forever. The city says the taste and odor issues should only stick around for a few days because "the water currently in the system, which contains higher levels of naturally occurring organics, needs time to fully cycle out of the distribution network before returning to normal."
They're actively working on it too. CCW is "continuously monitoring the water and actively adjusting the treatment process to improve taste and odor" and "adjusting its treatment processes to target and reduce the organic compounds that are currently causing the earthy taste."
Now, if you're wondering why your water might taste worse than your neighbor's, the city has an explanation for that too. "The intensity can vary depending on where a property is located within the water distribution grid. Areas with higher water usage or proximity to main transmission lines cycle through the affected water more quickly."
As for what caused this whole mess in the first place, it's not just the summer heat everyone's been dealing with. "The main reason for this event isn't just the summer heat, but also the recent increase in water levels in our lakes and rivers. This rise has brought more nutrient-rich organic matter, such as decomposing plant and algal material, into the surface waters. It's this mix of the new organic matter reacting with the warm summer temperatures that has resulted in the earthy taste we're experiencing now."
The most important thing to remember? Despite tasting terrible, the city assures everyone that "the tap water meets all regulatory safety standards and is safe to drink."
So while we wait for the water to get back to normal, local restaurant owners like Williams and Garcia are doing what they can to keep customers happy – even if it means spending a little extra money on bottled water. And honestly, after tasting the tap water myself, I can't blame anyone for reaching for a Coke instead.
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