CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Heavy rain upstream is boosting river levels feeding the Coastal Bend, but water officials say it may take time before residents see any benefit at the tap.
Rainfall near Pleasanton is now moving through the Frio River system, which connects to the Nueces River and ultimately Lake Corpus Christi. The surge has drawn onlookers to riverbanks in Three Rivers, where months of drought had left waterways low and stagnant.
At Tips Park, residents gathered to watch the fast-moving water and try their luck fishing.
“It’s just a blessing from God, I mean, we’ve been in a drought for months, and over the past year, I mean, this is just a blessing from God,” said resident Ricardo Martinez.
Despite the visible rise in water levels, officials with Corpus Christi Water say it’s unclear how much of that water will make it downstream into reservoirs that supply drinking water.
“There are a lot of potholes between here and there. So, there’s no way to estimate how much can actually make it from here to Lake Corpus Christi,” said Stephen Emerson with Corpus Christi Water.
Water loss along the route, including absorption into dry soil, evaporation, and natural retention areas, can significantly reduce how much flow ultimately reaches Lake Corpus Christi.
Nearby at Choke Canyon Reservoir, officials said none of the recent upstream water had arrived as of this reporting, though additional rainfall forecast later this week could change that.
In Three Rivers, the influx is already creating challenges. City officials say murkier river water is increasing treatment costs.
“A little bit more costly, probably a couple of hundred dollars more, having to use more of the chemicals. The alum and caustics to bring the pH level up. And then eventually to dispose of the mud that we take out of the water. We will have to waste and send it off to a landfill,” said City Manager Thomas Salazar.
The rain has also transformed typically quiet stretches of the Frio into active scenes, including sightings of wildlife like an alligator we spotted who was taking advantage of higher water levels.
Still, officials caution that while the rain is encouraging, it will take sustained rainfall in the right locations to significantly improve water supplies across the Coastal Bend.