The City of Corpus Christi is beginning the process of reviewing its current water outlook as reservoir levels improve and the city recently eased back to Stage 1 water restrictions.
Some City Council members say it may be time to rethink parts of the drought contingency plan, while others say the city should prioritize securing long-term water supplies.
Nick Winkelmann, Chief Operating Officer of Corpus Christi Water, said the city’s review is part of its broader effort to account for new water sources coming online.
“As those new sources are brought online, the goal has always been to look at the drought contingency plan, in particular the trigger stages for drought,” Winkelmann said.
Winkelmann said there are no plans to make changes to the plan in the near future, but city staff has started the first steps to review it.
“We’ve got our modelers working on on their recommendations right now. So once we have their recommendations, and then we’ll marry it with the timeline of the new water supply projects,” Winkelmann said.
Staff will then present its recommendations to the City Council. Winkelmann said key water projects need to come online before the city can determine how those changes could affect the drought plan.
However, some council members are already pushing for changes.
Councilman Eric Cantu said he wants Lake Texana included in the city’s combined reservoir levels.
“I think Lake Texana needs to be on there. That’s one of our main sources of water and we, I think we get about 70 million gallons a day from there, so more than 50% of our water is coming from Lake Texana,” Cantu said.
Winkelmann said including Lake Texana in the city’s combined reservoir calculation is more not as simple as it may seem, because the city only has access to a certain amount of water from the lake.
“Lake Texana is contractual water that can be limited by the regulatory authority, so it’s hard to count on that as a defined water amount every year,” Winkelmann said.
While some council members are calling for changes to the drought plan, others say the city should focus on other water priorities first.
Councilman Roland Barrera said staff should prioritize securing a long-term water supply, rather than making changes to the city’s drought policy.
“We have limited energy and time with staff. And I think they should devote their time to finding new sources, rather than what’s the impact of this new policy gonna have an effect on the community?” Barrera said.
For now, there are no set steps or an immediate timeline for changing the drought contingency plan. City staff will first complete its analysis and develop recommendations before bringing them to the City Council.
That means the debate over potential changes could continue into the next City Council term. 3NEWS will continue to provide updates as they become available.