This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. It is republished with permission. Sign up for their newsletter here.
A mounting water supply crisis in scorching far South Texas has left local governments pressed to respond. Two major cities, Brownsville and McAllen, rolled out watering restrictions in recent weeks and their counties made disaster declarations, seeking emergency state funds. The reservoirs that support the region are lower than they’ve ever been.
When city council members met Monday in Laredo, an 18th century Spanish frontier town and the largest South Texas city on the Rio Grande, it was their turn to craft a response. What they came up with illustrates the region’s helplessness to meet a changing climate and its willingness to approach the brink of disaster for the sake of green grass.
