In brief comments before the vote, Commission Chair Brooke T. Paup said she agreed with the executive director’s assessment of the city’s situation, stating that “the ongoing drought in the Nueces River basin, and the historically low inflows into Lake Corpus Christi and Choke Canyon Reservoir system, constitute an emergency” that compelled suspension of the releases.<\/p>\n
She added that a “drought of record of this magnitude was not considered” when an agreement that called for water releases was issued.<\/p>\n
![\"Lake](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/corpus-christi-caller-times\/cb2e9c71d77e81f180463b1555afb10e.jpg\"\/)
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Lake Corpus Christi in Mathis, Texas, on Aug. 15, 2026. Its capacity stood at nearly 92%, according to Texas Water Development Board data.<\/p>\n
“Water’s the most important issues facing this state, 100%,” she had earlier told Texas Rep. Denise Villalobos, who had testified in favor of discontinuing the releases.<\/p>\n
City officials have said the intent of the request is to retain as much water as possible in Lake Corpus Christi as the region continues to endure drought without firm predictions on when or if more water will find its way into the supply.<\/p>\n
“We don’t know when the drought will break,” said attorney Nathan Vassar, who represented the city in the matter. “The nature of any drought \u2014 certainly a drought of record, historic drought \u2014 you only know in the rearview mirror when it’s over. It is not over in the Coastal Bend region.”<\/p>\n
An option to renew the order<\/a>\u00a0for another 60 days would be determined after the 120 days pass. That extension will, at least in part, be based on whether the combined capacity of the water bodies is lower than 50% on Dec. 23, according to state officials.<\/p>\n More on water: Abbott’s office blasts Corpus Christi council on new Inner Harbor vote<\/a><\/p>\n The end goal of the request is to reach at least 50% combined water storage, based on levels at Lake Corpus Christi and Choke Canyon Reservoir.<\/p>\n The combined capacity of the two reached as low as about 8% at the height of what appeared to be\u00a0an impending water emergency<\/a>\u00a0in the spring \u2014 rescued only\u00a0by rains in May and June<\/a>, a kind of prelude to\u00a0upstream flooding in July<\/a>\u00a0that poured welcome water into the lake and reservoir.<\/p>\n The combined capacity of the lake and the reservoir was recorded at about 40.8% as of Sept. 9, according to city data.<\/p>\n The releases<\/p>\n “Water releases” is something of shorthand for the more official term, pass-throughs, meaning the allowance of a certain volume of inflow into the lake being allowed to “pass through” to the estuaries.<\/p>\n There haven’t been any since February 2024.<\/p>\n That’s because an agreement between the Nueces River Authority, the city of Three Rivers, the city of Corpus Christi and the state does not require releases when the combined storage of Lake Corpus Christi and Choke Canyon Reservoir slips below the 30% mark.<\/p>\n The combined storage is one factor in the volume of freshwater released \u2014 if any \u2014 but there are also other factors and stipulations, including that the water released may not exceed inflows to the lake.<\/p>\n Environmental nonprofits have pushed back on the city’s initiative since it was announced in August, asserting that in the time since the releases stopped in 2024, there has been a marked increase in salinity in the estuary system.<\/p>\n It’s a condition that imperils the habitat that acts as a nursery and inhibits maturity of certain species, representatives of environmental organizations have said.<\/p>\n Water shortage: Corpus Christi’s Inner Harbor desalination project again struck down<\/a><\/p>\n Several experts who addressed the commission on Sept. 9 said that salinity levels in Nueces Bay had increased from 22 parts per thousand and 26 parts per thousand to more than 40 parts per thousand \u2014 making it saltier than the gulf, they said.<\/p>\n But what is primary concern are the measurements in the Nueces Bay Delta, said Kiersten Stanzel, executive director of the Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program.<\/p>\n The area, which fosters marine life like fish, shrimp and crabs, should be the freshest area of the bay but has measured as high as 55 parts per thousand salinity, she said.<\/p>\n There is a balance that can be accomplished, Stanzel suggested, adding that monitoring efforts have “shown that relatively small amounts of freshwater can provide meaningful ecological benefits without attempting to change salinity throughout the entire bay.”<\/p>\n “Instead of framing this as an all-or-nothing decision, we encourage the commission to consider whether a smaller amount of water, strategically delivered to the right place at the right time, could maintain some freshwater refuge while reducing the demand on the regional water supply during the period for which relief is requested,” she suggested.<\/p>\n Jay Kleberg, executive director of the Gulf Trust, put forward a proposal that the commission attach conditions for the emergency order that would include the city of Corpus Christi returning to Stage 2 drought restrictions and requiring the lowest level of a pass-through \u2014 about 1,200 acre feet per month.<\/p>\n Rules for water use in drought: Here are the rules to follow under Stage 1 drought in Corpus Christi<\/a><\/p>\n Neither Stanzel nor Kleberg’s recommendations were entertained during the commission’s brief discussion.<\/p>\n The city isn’t required to show habitat impacts, Vassar told commissioners.<\/p>\n All that must be shown is existence of emergency and whether there are other alternatives available, he said. Scientific studies, such as those evaluating salinity, he said, “can happen independently of this process.”<\/p>\n Kirsten Crow covers city government and water news. Have a story idea? Contact her at kirsten.crow@caller.com.<\/p>\n Consider supporting local journalism with a\u00a0subscription to the Caller-Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n