CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — City officials told 3NEWS they expect the combined lake levels to dip below the 20 percent threshold during the Thanksgiving holiday, triggering Stage 3 water restrictions.
And with Stage 3, comes a drought contingency plan which halts the filling and refilling of pools.
"So, the drought contingency plan is our emergency response plan and that's something that we're looking at every day," Corpus Christi Water COO Drew Molly said.
He said they are monitoring our levels closely in order to make the best decision for our community, even phoning a friend to other experts.
"These are experts in the field, so we're talking to landscape and nursery associations, we're talking to pool associations, we're talking to parts of the community that we need to talk to make sure that we have the appropriate measures in place once we go into Stage 3," Molly said.
On Tuesday, 3NEWS caught up with a local pool company who's been in the business for more than 40 years. They said the city's drought contingency plan could cause some issues for them.
"Well, if we go into Stage 3 as they currently stand, the rule's now that we won't be able to add water to any swimming pools, existing or new construction," manager at Artisan Pools Nathan Matthews said.
"It can pose some serious environmental hazards, you know, pools turning into swamps in people's backyards," he added. "It's definitely going to damage structures if you can't have water in your pool, the plaster, things like that. It's going to be damaging to the property values as well."
Matthews said he's hopeful the City will make amendments to the drought plan, to allow for pools to remain operational.
"We're a pool builder that worries us a little bit, but you know, hopefully there's a, there's a fine line there in the middle that everybody can meet on," he said. "We're all going to have to sacrifice some, that's for sure."
Artisan Pools, recommends adding a solar blanket on top of your pool to slow down evaporation rates in the time being.
Molly said just because we fall below 20 percent doesn't mean they will call for Stage 3 immediately.
"That is something that we need to make sure that it is sustained below 20 percent," he said. "The last thing we want to do is have our community confused going back and forth between Stage 2 and Stage 3 drought restrictions."
When it comes to one of the City's most anticipated projects to end the year. They said it is still on track.
Robert Dodd, Director of Parks and Recreation sent us the following statement in regard to the Bill Witt Aquatic Center.
"The construction of the Bill Witt Aquatic Center is proceeding on schedule, with an anticipated completion date of December 2024, contingent upon weather conditions. The facility will function as a seasonal pool, operational from Memorial Day weekend through mid-August. The Parks and Recreation Department will adhere to any water restrictions implemented by the City of Corpus Christi regarding the operation of public and private pools."