CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Lake Corpus Christi is currently about 45 percent full.
This comes as the City of Corpus Christi announced it will delay moving to Stage 2 water restrictions with rain expected soon.
But residents who live right next to the lake know better than anyone just how significantly low the water levels are right now.
Corpus Christi At-Large City Council Member Mike Pusley has a home next to Lake Corpus Christi in Mathis. He has lived there for about 20 years and said the low water levels are noticeable, but he has seen it lower.
"If you look at it from a vertical perspective, the water's down about 11 feet from where it would normally be here in front of our home and other homes that are adjoining us," Pusley said.
Anytime the lake levels drop, Pusley explained what it means for the city.
"The biggest concern for us as residents here and residents of Corpus Christi is the access to water supply, drinking water supply," he said.
Pusley said his property at the lake is not affected, but Corpus Christi's water supply is. With Corpus Christi supplying water for half a million people across seven counties, he said low water levels at Lake Corpus Christi affect everyone that relies on it.
Lake Corpus Christi State Park Superintendent Kelly-Ann Malkowski described how low water levels are affecting the conditions there as far as turnout.
"We've seen fairly minimal impacts to both our park visitation—people coming out and enjoying the park—and fairly minimal impacts to our wildlife," Malkowski said.
She said Lake Corpus Christi is busy year-round with hundreds of people coming daily in January, regardless of the water levels.
She said the lake could benefit from forecasted rain.
"Some rain in the basin, in the watershed could absolutely impact our lake levels," Malkowski said. "But, something that we learn again and again is the water has to fall in the right place."
Pusley said Corpus Christi City Council is working to obtain additional water resources, including desal and groundwater plans.
He said a key for staying out of Stage 2 water restrictions right now is water conservation.
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