CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The City of Corpus Christi’s water supplies were expected to run dry by early next year. Now, recent heavy July rains are pouring into two main reservoirs, buying the city another two years to figure out the future after recent drought.
Two rivers, the Frio and the Nueces, took in mass volumes of historic rains that fell on the Kerrville and Uvalde regions last month. Those rivers flow south to the drought-stricken region of Corpus Christi.
Prior to the flood event, Lake Corpus Christi and Choke Canyon reservoir each sat below 10% water capacity, placing the greater Corpus Christi metro of 400,000 people at risk of running out of water.
Because the Frio and Nueces rivers have been pumping floodwaters south, Choke Canyon is now 25% full. Lake Corpus Christi is 60% filled and expected to rise to 100% once river flows drain into the reservoirs.
Corpus Christi City Manager Peter Zanoni shared the update at a recent public briefing.
“This is really good news for the community,” said Zanoni. “And it gives us time to bring on our water supply projects without the stress of heading into a level one water emergency.”
Prior to the July rains, the city was expected to go into a level one water emergency next month, meaning the city’s water supply could run dry by March of next year. That fear has now been pushed back two years to Sept. 2028.
Currently, Corpus Christi has dedicated $1 billion for future water supplies.