Petitioners for the Fair Water Amendment submitted more than 12,000 voter signatures to the Corpus Christi city secretary Monday, pushing to place the measure on the November ballot.
The coalition, led by For the Greater Good and the Texas Campaign for the Environment, began collecting signatures in February. Over four months, they gathered more than the 9,600 signatures — representing over 5% of city voters — required to move forward.
The amendment targets the drought surcharge exemption fee, which has been in place since 2018. The fee allows large industrial water users to pay 31 cents per 1,000 gallons to avoid potential surcharges if they are triggered.
Armon Alex, field director for the Fair Water Amendment, said the exemption benefits corporations at the public's expense.
"At the end of the day the Fair Water Amendment is pretty simple. Large industrial water users who make billions of dollars a year are getting discounts on their water rates," Alex said.
The submitted signatures must first be verified. After verification, the amendment language must be reviewed by both the city and the state before it can be placed on the ballot.
Dr. Isabel Araiza, co-founder of For the Greater Good, said the group is confident in the language they submitted.
"We are starting from a position of good faith. We think our language accurately reflects what the Fair Water Amendment states. We gave that to them so it can be a starting position," Araiza said.
Alex said the effort is ultimately about returning power to Corpus Christi residents.
"And so this allows us to put the power back into the hands of ordinary people here in Corpus Christi," Alex said.
The full text of the amendment is available at fairwateramendment.com.
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