CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas —
Corpus Christi's reservoirs are sitting around 40% of combined capacity, and a state environmental order requires the city to release some of that water when combined reservoir capacity exceeds 30%.
Now, there is pressure locally and at the state level to stop those releases permanently — but environmental experts are urging a science-driven approach before any lasting changes are made.
The city of Corpus Christi has submitted a request to temporarily halt the releases for 120 days. The agreed order mandating the releases dates back to 2001 and was established by the state.
Dr. Kiersten Stanzel, executive director of the Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program, said the debate has been mischaracterized.
"It's been a little bit portrayed that we're trying to fight the city on this."
Stanzel said her organization is not opposing change outright. She is advocating for a solution grounded in science and data.
"Our job is to advocate for the Bay and make sure that it's clear that we saw changes in salinity. We expect to see a lagged effect from these stops in releases," Dr. Stanzel said.
Corpus Christi City Manager Peter Zanoni pointed to the recent drought period as evidence that stopping releases has not caused visible environmental damage.
"What we've seen in the past two years is there's been no releases. We've been in severe drought. What we haven't seen is reports of massive degregation to the environment or fish kills," Zanoni said on August 11.
However, Adrien Hilmy, a project manager with the Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program, said the absence of immediate fish kills does not mean the bay is unaffected. He said the bay's changing salinity levels will impact the marine food chain over the long term.
"Prey species for redfish for example, which are typically very resilient to changes in salinity, their prey are not as resilient."
Hilmy said that dynamic could lead to broader consequences for fish populations over time.
"A reduction in prey availability. So you see the long term impacts or declines in populations," Hilmy said.
Hilmy and Stanzel said the agreed order likely needs to be updated, but they want the Nueces Estuary Advisory Council to lead that evaluation using science and data. The council has not met since 2017.
"A request needs to be made of TCEQ that they call a meeting of this advisory group," Hilmy added.
The Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program said it is standing behind the agreed order for now — not because it is dismissing the city's water concerns, but because it believes the order already accounts for both environmental and public water supply needs.
"We often hear 'We need to put people first.' The Agreed Order has conditions that put people first. There's a recognition of this need to balance the environmental needs with the water supply needs of the region. The Agreed Order does that," Hilmy said.
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