CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — At Tuesday's Corpus Christi City Council meeting, council members got an update on the ongoing drought and the latest plans for a potential desal plant.
Corpus Christi Water Chief Operating Officer Michael Murphy presented an update to a proposal that could discuss a third possibility for a desalination plant -- Flour Bluff.
Murphy addressed city council, reminding them of the situation here over the last 9 ½ months.
"We have been under drought restrictions for 288 days,” he said.
The city remains under Stage 1 drought restrictions as the combined lake levels for Lake Corpus Christi and Choke Canyon totaled only 41.80 percent of capacity in February, compared to 49.50 percent at this time last year.
Right now, it’s enough to keep us out of Stage 2 drought restrictions -- but for how long?
It does keeps alive the conversation about the critical need for a drought-resistant water source. That was the second part of Murphy’s presentation Tuesday, as he offered an update on an alternate site for a Seawater Desalination Plant.
In addition to aggressively working to develop sites on the Inner Harbor of the Corpus Christi Ship Channel and the La Quinta Ship Channel, Talen Energy is also in talks with the city about using its Barney Davis Power Plant site in Flour Bluff as a secondary option.
It’s something that District 4 Councilmember Dan Suckley is intrigued by.
"On the surface, there are some things that look like could be beneficial to us, not only from possibly the cost, but also in terms of maybe moving along quicker than maybe some of the other sites we’ve looked at," he said.
Murphy said the city is still studying the possibility, and that evaluation should be completed within the next five weeks.
Back to the drought, modeling by the National Weather Service said our combined water level could be at 35 percent by the beginning of June.
City Manager Peter Zanoni said that if we can stay around that number in the summer, things should look better for the fall.
More from 3News on KIIITV.com:
- Corpus Christi man indicted for selling fentanyl-laced pills that killed someone, federal officials say
- Critically missing 5-year-old found in Corpus Christi crawl space after being taken by parents
- Ohio train derailment has Corpus Christi leaders evaluating its disaster plan
- Water-line valve replacement causes water boil notice in section of Ingleside
- Woman hospitalized after being shot in Robstown, investigation ongoing
Subscribe to our YouTube channel for your daily news and exclusive extended interviews.
Do you have a news tip? Tell 3!
Email tell3@kiiitv.com so we can get in touch with you about your story should we have questions or need more information. We realize some stories are sensitive in nature. Let us know if you'd like to remain anonymous.