Voters will decide if industry pays drought surcharge

The Corpus Christi City Council voted 6-2 today to place the Fair Water Amendment on the November 3rd general election ballot, rejecting a recommendation from the City Attorney's office that the measure be classified as a "climate charter" under state law and withheld from the ballot unless approved by the Texas Legislature.

The Fair Water Amendment would eliminate the City's drought surcharge exemption for large industrial water users. The measure qualified for the ballot after organizers submitted 12,776 validated petition signatures in June.

Armon Alex, Fair Water Amendment campaign director, praised the vote: "This vote was a win for the democratic process. Now it's going to be the voters, rather than lawyers, who'll decide whether big industrial water users should begin paying their fair share. We thank the council majority for doing the right thing today and putting the FWA on the ballot.”

“The real fight now shifts to the fall,” said Alex. “We know big industry is going to fight this, because it means they'll have to begin paying a fair price for their water during drought. So we'll be turning all of our attention to educating, organizing and mobilizing voters to go the polls and support the FWA in November."