Lake Corpus Christi’s water capacity drops below 10%, its lowest level on record.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Lake Corpus Christi is now below 10% capacity, the lowest level on record.

RELATED: Lake Corpus Christi falls below 10%, city unveils water security plans

For Hilda, Lake Corpus Christi means everything, but she says it’s not the same.

“I was in shock because I’ve never seen it like this. This is by far the worst,” Hilda said. “It would be very nice to see it like that again. You know, my parents would bring us here all the time, and it’s just very sentimental. Very sad that we have to see it like this, and we don’t want to see it gone.”

At its lowest level, Corpus Christi City Manager Peter Zanoni said it’s not time to panic, just time to keep preparing.

“But it doesn’t trigger any emergency. It doesn’t trigger any stage in water use. What it does do is remind us that the 76 million gallons of additional water that we’re bringing on through a billion dollars of approved City Council projects — that’s what’s going to get us through the fact that this lake is dropping,” Zanoni said.

Zanoni said the City Council has approved four groundwater projects in Nueces and San Patricio counties. The city is also collaborating with neighboring communities to secure water for everyone.

“Well, we have a best-case scenario. We’re developing a midline case and a worst-case scenario. The best-case scenario, which assumes some level of rain, has this lake lasting through about early fall before it’s essentially down to 1% or completely empty,” Zanoni said. “While it may look shallow, there’s still a large volume of water. We’re using less each day because we’re drawing more from our eastern sources, so there’s lower use of this reservoir and Choke Canyon ahead of it. If we continue using it at the current pace, early fall is when it would be depleted.”

Corpus Christi Water Chief Operating Officer Nick Winkleman said the lake isn’t the city’s only water source.

“The important note is the city did a great job of diversifying its surface water supply with the addition of Lake Texana and the lower Colorado River through the Mary Rhodes pipeline,” Winkleman said. “Since March of last year, we’ve been pumping approximately 70 to 72 million gallons a day.”

Corpus Christi Fire Department Chief Brandon Wade said there are no changes to the emergency plan. The department meets weekly to review drought conditions and lake levels.

“We work with the Corpus Christi Water Department to monitor the system, the levels, and supply and demand,” Wade said. “If there were to be any challenges, that’s when we would enact those plans and put them in place.”

With summer near, Hilda hopes water levels don’t drop further.

“I pray that everything goes well,” she said. “I mean, we hear a lot of bad things, like hurricanes. I really don’t want a hurricane, but if that’s what it’s going to take for it to fill back up, then that’s what it’s going to take.”