CORPUS CHRISTI - According to studies conducted by the Blucher Institute at A&M-Corpus Christi, the local part of the Texas coast is slowly sinking. Water wells and oil and gas production are causing the land to gradually subside.

And that problem is aggravated by sea levels, which are rising about 4-to-5 millimeters a year along the Texas coast. It's a long term effect, but experts said it needs to be considered when planning for future development.

"Well in the next 50 years,"Director of Blucher Institute said. "We're gonna see an extra rise of about a foot in the sea level around Corpus Christi. So we need to be prepared."

The report could bolster the county's efforts to enforce a 350-foot setback for new construction on the barrier islands.