Just outside of Orange Grove, one resident says while cities scramble to address water shortages, people who rely on private wells are getting left behind.
James Byrn has been living in Orange Grove for five years and has been monitoring his water filtration system. He said what he is seeing in his water now is unlike anything he has seen before.
"I'm just like everybody else. I’m scared. I mean if that well goes dry -what do you do?" Byrn said.
Byrn showed KRIS 6 News his well system, saying his water comes from about 280 feet underground, while city wells nearby reach more than double that depth. The contaminants gathering in his filter are called total dissolved solids, or TDS, that come from his well into the water running to his home over the last four weeks.
"This is all the stuff that’s been coming. And this is just the water that’s going to the house. This is not the total water coming out of that well," Byrn said.
"It’s contaminated. I mean as the water level goes down, the contaminants go up. That’s evidence of it right there. And that’s only four weeks. This filter is normally changed every 6 months," Byrn said.
"All of these people are drinking this garbage," Byrn said.
Byrn is calling for more attention on what he believes could be impacting both water quality and water rights for well owners in the area. With more wells being drilled across the region, he believes the problem will only get worse.
"I’ve contacted the governor's office twice. I filed a complaint with the TCEQ which they referred it to the Corpus Christi Water District. No response from any of them," Byrn said.
Nick Winklemann, chief operating officer for Corpus Christi, said the city's well access is between 500 and 800 feet below ground.
"We are accessing the water - targeting the water depths between 500and 800 feet. So we’re taking advantage of the confining clay layers to separate the production of our wells from the local residential and livestock wells," Winklemann said.
Winklemann said they are monitoring the wells and are looking into when Byrn called to return his messages.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
For the latest local news updates, click here, or download the KRIS 6 News App.
Catch all the KRIS 6 News stories and more on our YouTube page. Subscribe today!
