Environmental water releases from Lake Corpus Christi, intended to maintain the health of Nueces Bay estuaries, will be temporarily suspended.
The three-member board of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on Sept. 9 sided with the city of Corpus Christi’s request to cease the freshwater releases for about four months
, unanimously voting to affirm an Aug. 25 emergency order issued by the agency’s executive director.An option to renew the order for another 60 days would be determined after the 120 days pass.
City officials have said the intent of the request is to retain as much water as possible in Lake Corpus Christi as the city continues to endure drought, without firm predictions on when or if more water will find its way into the supply.
The goal is to reach at least 50% combined water storage, based on levels at Lake Corpus Christi and Choke Canyon Reservoir.
The combined capacity of the two reached as low as about 8% at the height of an impending water emergency in the spring, before rains in May and June, as well as upstream flooding in July that poured welcome water into the lake and reservoir.
There haven’t been water releases — known more officially as pass-throughs — since February 2024.
That’s because an agreement between the Nueces River Authority, the city of Three Rivers, the city of Corpus Christi and the state does not require releases when the combined storage of Lake Corpus Christi and Choke Canyon Reservoir slips below the 30% mark.
Environmental nonprofits have pushed back on the city’s initiative, asserting that since the releases were suspended in 2024, there has been a marked increase in salinity in the estuary system, a condition that imperils the habitat that acts as a nursery.
Evidence of impact is measured not by a fish kill but by a “lagged” effect that inhibits maturity of certain species, environmental experts have said.
They have also contested that the volume of water that would be “passed through” the lake to the estuary would be much less than what has been publicly stated by city officials.
Although combined capacity of the lake and reservoir is a factor in determining volume of freshwater released, there are also other factors, including that the water released may not exceed inflows to the lake.
The combined capacity of the lake and the reservoir was recorded at about 40.8% as of Sept. 9, according to city data.
Stage 1 drought restrictions, which permit watering lawns one day per week, were enacted Aug. 27.
Kirsten Crow covers city government and water news. Have a story idea? Contact her at kirsten.crow@caller.com.
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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Pause on water releases from Lake Corpus Christi allowed to continue
