CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — City Manager Peter Zanoni told Corpus Christi city council members Tuesday the news is "good, but not great," during an update on the city's Stage 1 drought restrictions.
Zanoni told the council that as of Tuesday, our combined lake levels were 49.6 percent.
Once they hit 50 percent, Zanoni said those restrictions, which have been in place since June 14th, will be lifted.
That's the good news. The not so great news has to do with the areas long-term outlook.
The city manager told council members the national weather service expects hotter and drier conditions up to spring of next year.
Given the long-term forecast, Zanoni said the community will still need to be cautioned about conserving water.
Michael Murphy, the chief operating officer for water utilities, told the council that we could hit 50 percent of capacity by the end of this week, or over the weekend.
Murphy reiterated what the city manager said about the long-term weather forecast.
He said while the recent rains gave us a brief break, residents shouldn't let that fool them.
Murphy said barring any tropical event, Corpus Christi will see water levels start to drop again.
That's why residents will be asked to continue conserving water.
To accomplish that, Murphy said next month the city will unveil a new water conservation plan, as some modifications will be made to the current plan.
Also coming soon will be a campaign that will promote, "Water Conservation 365."
The goal of that campaign will be to promote water conservation practices 365 days a year.
Social media and billboards will be used to get the word out to the community.
