Think back to last August, when we received over eleven inches of rainfall. Most of that fell during the second half of the month. Those rainfall totals pushed our watershed levels from 36% percent full to 45% full.
However, this meteorological winter has been the 12th driest on record so far. Meteorological winter starts December 1 and ends February 28. Since the start of December, we've only seen around an inch an a quarter of rain in Corpus Christi.
Last week, we were already seeing abnormally dry conditions in Corpus Christi. Today's drought monitor update saw the spread and return of drought conditions to Nueces County.
Right now, watershed levels sit around 42%. That's down about 1% from a month ago. Our watershed levels are calculated from the Choke Canyon Reservoir and Lake Corpus Christi.
The reason we care so much about the lake levels is because they are the main deciding factor in Corpus Christi's Drought Contingency Plan. That plan, then, puts water restrictions into effect.
There are four stages in the plan: Mild Water Shortage Watch, Moderate Water Shortage, Critical Water Shortage, and Emergency Water Shortage. We have been in stage one water restrictions (Mild Water Shortage Watch) since mid-June of last year.
Stage one restrictions include:
• Watering with irrigation or sprinklers is allowed one day per week on your trash day, with no watering on that day between 10:00am - 6:00pm.
• Watering with a hand-held hose with a shut-off nozzle, a bucket, or a drip irrigation system is allowed on any day at any time.
• The City monitors Stage One compliance.
In order to rid ourselves of water restrictions, watershed levels have to get back above 50%.
We haven't quite crept back above that 50% threshold, and so we stay in Stage One water restrictions.
However, City officials can also adjust the timeline of restrictions if it appears that conditions will continue to stay dry - even if we get above 50%. That's thanks to a clause in the Drought Contingency Plan that the City Manager "may initiate or terminate any stage when [they deem] it necessary at any time."