CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas —
Corpus Christi's reservoirs sit at 43 percent of combined capacity as of Wednesday, and city leaders are now taking steps to hold onto that water.
City Manager Peter Zanoni said his staff traveled to Austin on Tuesday to hand-deliver an application to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, also known as TCEQ, to temporarily stop required water releases.
"30%, 40% combined water levels is not a lot. We should be 50, 60, 70 all the time," Zanoni said.
A 2001 agreed order with the state requires Corpus Christi to release some water from its reservoirs once they exceed 30 percent of combined capacity. The application to temporarily stop those releases was also signed by Three Rivers and the Nueces River Authority.
"So let's try to hold onto this water as long as we can," Zanoni said.
Zanoni said the TCEQ executive director has the authority to approve the application, but it would then need further ratification.
"The Executive Director has the right to approve it. Then it would need to be ratified by the TCEQ commission, the board of directors, and that could be in September," Zanoni said.
Beyond a temporary halt, local leaders are also aiming to permanently end the agreed order. Zanoni said that in his opinion, the environmental impacts of not releasing water have been minimal over the years.
"TCEQ actually has to lead the process to change the agreed order permanently," Zanoni said.
The city is currently above 40 percent of combined capacity, which is the threshold for Stage 1 water restrictions. Despite that, Zanoni said the city plans to remain in Stage 2 restrictions, citing projections that show the threshold would be short-lived.
"Let's stay in stage 2... because our models show we're going to be at 40 percent in a couple weeks anyway," Zanoni said.
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