CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Despite the recent rain, the combined lake levels of Lake Corpus Christi and Choke Canyon continue to drop and are now at 26.44 percent.
The dams at both lakes help maintain how much water continues downstream.
It's something residents who live along the Nueces River pay close attention to and has been the focus behind several questions we receive about water releases.
The top of the Wesley Seale Dam offers impressive views of Lake Corpus Christi, but it's also a telling story of just how low the water level has become.
David Lozano with Corpus Christi Water has seen the levels rise and fall over the last 15 years.
"Our goal is to keep the water from going over the salt water barrier, once it goes over it's wasted water," Lozano said.
The control room offers insight into the daily operations at the dam. Monitors display raw water usage from the lake and those who pull from the river downstream.
"We keep an eye on the meters here for Mathis," Lozano said. "There's two in Mathis, a couple in Alice and the one in Beeville."
The meters are also used to determine how much those municipalities are billed.
"These are the industrial folks that take water from the river as well," Lozano said.
He is able to make adjustments depending on the daily amount needed.
"We're just meeting demand downstream right now for O.N. Stevens, Flint Hills, Celanese, Robstown."
The release, part of the natural flow down the river, but there are also times when mother nature brings too much rain.
That's when these gates come into play.
"[In] May of 2015 we had eight gates open."
In all there are 60 of them.
Lozano says there are a lot of misconceptions about the process.
"They think we are trying to drain the lake, and that's not true," he said. "We release a minimum amount that they need downstream and we keep a close eye on the river, the whole team is always monitoring the river level. We try to conserve and keep as much water as we can, that's our job."
3NEWS also got to meet the rest of the team that keeps the dam and its grounds maintained. They perform weekly inspections, and keep the birds away with deterrents like spray sensors.
Lozano knows conditions along the Nueces River can change quickly which is why he remains optimistic.
"Lake Corpus Christi is known for a quick-fill lake, so all we need is it to rain in the right places and we'll get full pretty quick," he said.