CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The summer's extreme South Texas temperatures have taken a toll on the City of Corpus Christi's water supply as well as residents' lawns and outdoor plants.
Esteban Ramos is the Water Resource Manager for the Corpus Christi Water. He spoke with 3NEWS and explained how the city gets its water from Lake Corpus Christi and the Choke Canyon Reservoir. Recently, the combined storage levels of those sources were about 36 percent full.
"Currently we are in stage one of our drought contingency plan, so we've dropped below 40% and that is asking our residents and community to adhere to once per week watering," Ramos said. "We're in a situation where we need to be aware of our current conditions. We need to be vigilant about where our water comes from and how it is being used."
To help with conservation efforts, the City's Water Conservation 365 Program promotes selling 55-gallon rain barrels that residents can use to water their grass, or any outside plants they may have.
Local realtor and gardener, Rick Gomez, found another way to upkeep his gardening projects.
Gomez has utilized a 265-gallon water tank that was left behind at a property he was managing and filled it with water from his air-conditioner's condensation.
With the help from the tank, Gomez has conserved water while also irrigating the plants, fruits, herbs and trees he has grown in his backyard. He has multiple water tanks but he said this one was a special find.
"This one was unique because it was tall," Gomez explained. "It was a water tank that would take up less ground space, which is a priority for most of us that don't have as much space in our yards as we would like. I was able to bring it over, put in some plumbing and put it in a spot that benefited from water that came naturally."
If you're not as lucky as Mr. Gomez to come across an over 200 gallon water tank, the city is selling 55-gallon water tanks that you can still purchase in time for the rain we're expecting to see on Aug. 22.
For more information click here.
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