Corpus Christi leaders hope heavy rains bring drought relief, while expressing support for Texas communities impacted by flooding.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — As devastating flooding continues to impact communities across the Texas Hill Country, Corpus Christi officials say their focus remains on those affected. At the same time, they’re closely monitoring whether the same storm system could bring much-needed relief to the Coastal Bend’s strained water supply.
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The topic came up during Thursday’s discussion of the city’s 2027 water budget, where officials discussed what the recent rainfall could mean for the region’s water future.
After months of a water crisis that has drawn statewide and national attention, city leaders acknowledged the difficult balance of hoping for drought relief while recognizing the devastation unfolding upstream.
“I know the City of Kerrville is completely closed, the government operation, so we do care about that and care about them, and we’re here to help them if they need the help,” City Manager Peter Zanoni said. “At the same time, that water has to go somewhere, and that’s how our watershed works.”
Zanoni said water from the Nueces and Frio river systems is expected to make its way downstream toward Lake Corpus Christi and Choke Canyon Reservoir, though the process will take time.
“I’m hopeful that a lot of that rain does make it down,” Zanoni said. “It’s gonna take a couple of weeks, the water experts tell us, for all that water to get from the Kerrville area, Hondo area to our two reservoirs in the west. We’ll be monitoring it daily and we’ll be reporting to the region here, the community.”
City Councilman Gil Hernandez said additional water in the reservoirs could provide the city with more flexibility as it works to expand its water supply.
“It’ll give us a little more time to do things and bring things online slowly and we’re not having to overpay for rushing projects,” Hernandez said. “But ultimately we still need to do those projects in order to diversify our water sources.”
City staff said they have already begun taking steps to secure water expected to reach nearby reservoirs from the recent rainfall, by trying to temporarily pause lake releases.
“We do have a request sent to TCEQ to give us like a one-time reprieve, because once the reservoirs do hit 30% combined, then we have to do environmental releases,” Zanoni said.
Mayor Paulette Guajardo said increasing reservoir levels could move the city closer to easing back to stage two drought restrictions.
“Today we are at 15% and one of my highest priorities is getting our community back to level two drought restrictions as soon as conditions safely allow,” Guajardo said. “Because this is gonna require again the combined reservoir storage to reach 30%, we need to be able to water our grass.”
While city leaders expressed optimism that recent rainfall could improve water conditions, city officials cautioned that any benefit will not happen immediately.
Water officials described the process as “a marathon, not a race,” with Zanoni saying city staff will monitor water as it flows into Lake Corpus Christi and Choke Canyon Reservoir. He said the city plans to provide weekly or biweekly updates on reservoir conditions as the water makes its way downstream.