Going thirsty after the boom

Welders drilling a well on land bought in rural parts of Nueces County in Texas. — Meridith Kohut/The New York Times

THE mayor of Corpus Christi called an emergency meeting in April to deliver a dire warning: the city, among the largest in Texas, was running out of water. City leaders had to make a plan, and fast.

“Every day of delay increases uncertainty,” Mayor Paulette Guajardo told the city council. Officials had warned that demand could outstrip supply within months.