CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — For Carrie Meyer, owner of Nature Trails Kayaking, the bay isn't just a body of water—it's her livelihood, her backyard, and her way of life. But that life, she says, is under threat from a controversial desalination project approved by the state.
“This is a David and Goliath fight,” Meyer said. “It’s a big fight.”
On a breezy morning along the bay’s edge, Meyer preps her husband’s kite-surfing gear, scanning the same waters where she teaches paddle lessons and leads kayaking tours. That stretch of coastline is now at the heart of a growing legal battle.
Meyer is one of nine local residents suing the state over its approval of a permit that allows a new desalination plant to discharge treated wastewater into the bay. The lawsuit alleges that the state rushed its environmental review and failed to properly assess the potential ecological risks.
“I give lessons and take people on short tours, paddling down to the Lexington,” Meyer said. “The bay is the reason we live here. It’s everything to us.”
Opponents argue that introducing desalinated water into the bay could damage its fragile ecosystem—threatening marine life, degrading water quality, and disrupting the lives and businesses that depend on the health of the bay.
“If something happened to the Bay everything here would change—where I live, where I work, how I make a living,” Meyer said. “And it’s not just me. It’s thousands of other people.”
Just a mile inland, in the Hillcrest neighborhood where the plant will be located, the fight has taken on another dimension. The Hillcrest Neighborhood Group is also part of the lawsuit, but on Monday, residents gathered to protest a separate issue: a city rezoning proposal that would convert parts of the historically residential area into industrial zones.
“We have, to a great extent, been ignored,” said Brother Henry Williams, a lifelong Hillcrest resident. “And we do not want that to continue. That’s what this fight is about—preserving our history and our heritage.”
City and port officials back the project, citing the region’s long-term water needs and the potential for economic growth. But residents argue the cost is too high—environmentally, culturally, and economically.
“Property is sacrosanct in Texas—meaning it’s sacred,” an attorney representing Hillcrest said. “And the same rights people have in Kings Crossing, they should have in this community.”
For Meyer, the lawsuit represents more than just legal opposition—it’s a stand to protect the place she calls home.
“The water will eventually leave the channel and come into the bay,” she said. “What are the impacts? We just don’t know.”
She says the voices of small business owners like herself are often drowned out by powerful interests pushing the project forward.
“There are a lot of powerful people making sure this thing goes through,” Meyer said. “As a little person with a small business, you think no one is going to listen to me.”
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