A projection for when Corpus Christi expects to reach a water crisis was pushed back by three months after a wet April brought enough rain to delay an emergency but too little to quench a brutal drought.<\/p>\n
The city was initially bracing for a Level 1 emergency \u2014 the point when water demand is projected to be six months from exceeding supplies \u2014 to hit by September.<\/p>\n
Rain that the community has long prayed for fell last month, delaying the Level 1 projection to December and buying the city a few more months to plan for the expected emergency.<\/p>\n
Still, the delay provided \u201csome very encouraging news,\u201d Nick Winkelmann, chief operating officer of Corpus Christ\u2019s water department, told the City Council on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The new projection came largely because Lake Texana, one of three reservoirs the city depends on, jumped from 55% capacity last month to 76%<\/a>. The two other reservoirs the city depends on have shrunk to historic lows: Lake Corpus Christi is a little above 10% capacity<\/a>, and Choke Canon is at 7% capacity<\/a>.<\/p>\n Winkelmann added that \u201cthere is a beneficial forecast this week, so we need to remember that these numbers do not include any future rain.\u201d<\/p>\n For months, the city has been scraping by with a patchwork of temporary solutions<\/a> \u2014 including more than a dozen recently drilled wells \u2014 to supply enough water for its 318,000 residents, businesses and a robust petrochemical corridor, plus another 200,000 residents served in a seven-county area.<\/p>\n Industrial demand accounts for around 60% of Corpus Christi\u2019s water demand.<\/p>\n