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.
The city was initially bracing for a Level 1 emergency — the point when water demand is projected to be six months from exceeding supplies — to hit by September.
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.
Still, the delay provided “some very encouraging news,” Nick Winkelmann, chief operating officer of Corpus Christ’s water department, told the City Council on Tuesday.
The new projection came largely because Lake Texana, one of three reservoirs the city depends on, jumped from 55% capacity last month to 76%. The two other reservoirs the city depends on have shrunk to historic lows: Lake Corpus Christi is a little above 10% capacity, and Choke Canon is at 7% capacity.
Winkelmann added that “there is a beneficial forecast this week, so we need to remember that these numbers do not include any future rain.”
For months, the city has been scraping by with a patchwork of temporary solutions — including more than a dozen recently drilled wells — 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.
Industrial demand accounts for around 60% of Corpus Christi’s water demand.
City leaders have been discussing an emergency curtailment plan for months, and the City Council is set to vote on a final plan at its June 2 meeting. The water department proposes requiring customers — ranging from residents to oil refineries — to cut water use by 25% during a Level 1 emergency.
The water department set residents’ monthly baseline use at 8,000 gallons per household, limiting them to 6,000 gallons if an emergency is triggered. Under a proposal before the council, every 1,000 gallons used after that would cost an additional $4. Beyond 8,000 gallons, every 1,000 gallons would cost another $8.
Commercial customers, such as businesses and apartment complexes, would have their baselines decided case-by-case based largely on average monthly usage from 2021-23.
Council Member Eric Cantu is concerned about viewing apartment dwellers as commercial customers. “Apartments are homes also,” he said.
Winkelmann said the water department will meet with the local apartment association this week to discuss possible solutions.