As drought conditions persist, a 3NEWS team traveled upstream to better understand where that water begins \u2014 and how it reaches South Texas.<\/p>\n
Chief Meteorologist Carly Smith, reporter Michael Gibson and chief photographer Preston West traced the region\u2019s watershed from the headwaters of both rivers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been at the headwaters or the area where the headwaters start of both the Nueces and now the Frio River,\u201d Smith said. \u201cOur two main rivers in our region that fill up our lakes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those rivers supply Lake Corpus Christi and Choke Canyon Reservoir — the primary water sources for the Coastal Bend.<\/p>\n
The Frio River plays a key role in that system.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the only major river that flows into Choke Canyon,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
Near Leakey, the Frio River begins as spring-fed water flowing from the Edwards Aquifer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt comes out of springs, actually,\u201d said Rob Goebel, who owns property along the Frio River. \u201cYou\u2019re at the headwaters of the Frio\u2026 it\u2019s created by nine big springs\u2026 and it comes out of the Edwards Aquifer deep underground.\u201d<\/p>\n
At its source, the water is clear, cold and flowing steadily — a contrast to conditions seen downstream.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n \u201cThis is just a little bit of water compared to what we need throughout the entire river,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n Despite heavier rainfall in the Hill Country, that water does not always make its way to the Coastal Bend.<\/p>\n \u201cIt breaks my heart and I really don\u2019t understand it,\u201d Goebel said. \u201cI just don\u2019t understand why y\u2019all don\u2019t have the water.\u201d<\/p>\n Even periods of heavy rain don\u2019t always provide lasting relief.<\/p>\n Smith pointed to flooding along the Frio River last summer as an example of how quickly conditions can change.<\/p>\n \u201cThis spot on the Frio River was 15 feet above where,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n She said the contrast highlights both the power and unpredictability of the region\u2019s water system.<\/p>\n \u201cIt can go from being so calm to so strong just by some heavy rainfall,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n As South Texas heads into warmer months, Smith said both drought and flooding remain concerns.<\/p>\n \u201cTurn around, don\u2019t drown,\u201d she said. \u201cThose low water crossings can quickly turn dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n For the 3NEWS team, the trip upstream offered a clearer look at how the region\u2019s water system works — and what\u2019s at stake as drought continues.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve learned from stories along the river,\u201d Smith said, \u201cand it really shows how important this entire watershed is.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"3NEWS traces the Nueces and Frio Rivers from their headwaters, showing how spring-fed water feeds the Coastal Bend…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":232935,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[155,157,156],"class_list":["post-232934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-corpus-christi","tag-corpus-christi","tag-corpus-christi-headlines","tag-corpus-christi-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=232934"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232934\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/232935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=232934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=232934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=232934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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