The city of Corpus Christi is feeling the impact of severe drought conditions and is now under Stage 3 water restrictions. The move to stage 3 came after the two lakes that provide water for the city dropped below 20 percent capacity.
Earlier this month, the combined capacity of Lake Corpus Christi and Choke Canyon Reservoirs fell to 19.9 percent.
“I want to thank the community for their understanding and cooperation during this critical time,” City Manager Peter Zanoni said in a news release. “Every drop counts. Let’s work together to protect our most vital resource and ensure a stable water future for Corpus Christi.”
The news release also detailed actions the city has taken recently.
"The City is actively sourcing additional water through increased capacity from the Mary Rhodes Pipeline and groundwater sources. The City will monitor drought conditions and combined lake levels daily and inform the public as preparations continue," Zanoni said. "In early December, City departments proactively began reducing their water use by stopping or reducing non-essential outside landscape irrigation at City facility grounds, including park irrigation, fountain operations, and facility pressure washing. In addition, there was ongoing coordination with industry representatives to ensure their partnership on conservation efforts."
Restrictions set forth in Stage 3 include prohibiting any landscape watering, including handheld hoses, along with no washing of cars or boats and other vehicles, except for commercial car washes.
Corpus Christi city officials say they will begin issuing citations on January 1st to anyone violating the restrictions. Just under half of the state of Texas is currently experiencing drought conditions.
