CARRIZO SPRINGS — In the year since the Eagle Ford Shale boom burst upon South Texas — bringing hordes of oil field workers, convoys of heavy equipment and a tidal wave of investment money — small town life has turned topsy-turvy.
Here and elsewhere, traffic has become unbearable, restaurants are impossibly crowded, grocery stores regularly run out of meat and beer, electrical brownouts come and go, and prices for everything have skyrocketed.
“The whole world is changing here. This little community was deader than hell, but now that we have all these people coming in, we’re changing, things are happening,” said Eloy Rodriguez, the Dimmit County code compliance officer.
A quiet community of 5,700 residents tucked away in the brush country about two hours southwest of San Antonio, Carrizo Springs was completely unprepared for the dramatic economic and social changes now buffeting it.
Much of it is welcome. But while the county tax base and sales tax revenue are both doubling, and there are oil field jobs aplenty, the flip side is seen in the $1,200 two-bedroom rental house that a year ago went for $250, causing some locals to be shoved out.
And, as everyone learned this summer, there can be an unsavory side to an oil boom.
Source: Fuel Fix
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