EDITOR'S NOTE: The following story has been updated with further context provided to KRIS 6 by Corpus Christi Water Chief Operating Officer Drew Molly.
Sylvia Campos, District 2 representative, announced on social media that Corpus Christi's water supply from the lower Colorado River has been shut down due to severe drought conditions.
In a Facebook Live, Campos stated that Mayor Paulette Gujardo and the city council were informed Sunday about the situation, which led to the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) could not provide water on Monday.
The city's water chief operating officer, Drew Molly, clarified that while the Colorado River has been experiencing drought conditions for months, affecting water availability on a day-to-day basis, the LCRA anticipates the resumption of full water availability shortly. "We have had a curtailment today based on availability of water in the Colorado, but that will be different tomorrow," Molly said.
Corpus Christi Water had alerted the mayor and city council on April 21 according to Molly, acknowledging that river basin conditions were unstable and some days did not allow the full water allotment. Nevertheless, back-up water sources, like Lake Texana, have enabled the city to maintain its water supply.
Currently, the city is in Stage 3 of its drought contingency plan, but Campos suggested calling it a Stage 4 water emergency, which entails more stringent measures. According to Molly, while a future water emergency isn't out of the question, he emphasized the importance of transparency and monitoring through updates to the city's water supply dashboard.
Molly highlighted the broader impact of the drought affecting 80% of Texas and underscored the essential need for drought-proof water supply projects like seawater desalination. "Seawater desalination is a must-have, not a nice-to-have," he stated, noting the urgency in developing reliable and diverse water supply solutions for Corpus Christi.
KRIS 6 also reached out to LCRA who provided the following statement:
The City of Corpus Christi does not have a water supply contract with LCRA. Rather, the city of Corpus Christi has a run-of-river water right that allows it to draw 35,000 acre-feet of water a year from the lower Colorado River, subject to available flows in the lower river.
LCRA does not “cut off” the City of Corpus Christi from the lower Colorado River supply. We regularly share information and coordinate with Corpus Christi about the availability of water in the lower Colorado River. This information includes expected flows in the river and how much could be available for Corpus Christi to divert on a week-ahead or day-ahead basis. As the drought has worsened and less flow has become available in the lower river, the amount of water available for Corpus Christi to divert has decreased and can vary from day to day.
We continue to coordinate closely with the City of Corpus Christi on the ongoing drought conditions and water availability.
For the latest local news updates, click here, or download the KRIS 6 News App.
Catch all the KRIS 6 News stories and more on our YouTube page. Subscribe today!
