Last week, District 3 City Council member Eric Cantu urged Corpus Christi, Texas, to ease its water restrictions, arguing the city should move from Stage 2 back to Stage 1 because combined reservoir levels remain above the threshold in the city's drought contingency plan, according to Kris 6 News.
Here's what to know
With combined lake levels staying above 40%, Cantu argued that Corpus Christi should be under Stage 1 rather than Stage 2 restrictions, citing the threshold laid out in the city's drought contingency plan.
"Why is it so hard to give the residents water?" Cantu said, per Kris 6 News.
Cantu also said the issue comes down to consistency and public trust.
"We need to go to Stage 1 it's our policy. Why make policy if we're not going to follow our own policy?" he said.
Any move back to Stage 1 was up to City Manager Peter Zanoni. Stage 2 allows automatic lawn watering every other week, and Zanoni said on Aug. 12 that he wanted to keep the stricter level in place.
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"We wanna be more cautious and say let's stay in Stage 2. Our models show that we'll be in 40% in a couple of weeks anyway. That plus the long-term forecast. Not only the long but also the short and the midrange forecast all are expected to be drier than normal," Zanoni said.
On Tuesday, Zanoni announced that the city would move into Stage 1, aligning with the city's drought contingency plan and following an assessment from Corpus Christi Water, according to KIII-TV.
"What that means is we can water or irrigate our lawns and landscaping once a week instead of once every other week," he added.
More background
Prior to the shift to Stage 1, Council Member Gil Hernandez said it would be difficult to loosen restrictions while Corpus Christi is also asking the state to temporarily stop water releases as the city tries to protect its supply.
"It's kind of hard to ask for dispensation on that while you're increasing your water usage," Hernandez said.
The debate also played out as Corpus Christi weighs larger water supply projects.
What's being done?
Two desalination-related items are slated to go before the council on Sept. 1.
One is a scheduled vote on the Inner Harbor desalination project. The other is an expected update from the Nueces River Authority on the Harbor Island project.
Mayor Pro Tem Kaylynn Paxson said she pushed for that additional discussion.
"I have asked staff to get a presentation from IDE on our agenda for September 1st. They have been recently selected by the NRA to build a marine desalination option on Harbor Island," Paxson said.
Council Member Mark Scott said Harbor Island is not yet at the same stage as Inner Harbor.
"Inner Harbor comes back September 1st. Harbor Island is really months away from having any real review. I think it's premature to put it on the agenda," Scott said.
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