Corpus Christi water restrictions and drought stage rules
Corpus Christi sets its drought restrictions on combined storage across Choke Canyon Reservoir and Lake Corpus Christi, not on the level of either lake by itself. This page shows the stage the City has declared, the thresholds that start each stage, and the rule that decides when one ends.
Current drought stage
Declared by the City of Corpus Christi. The percentage beside it is measured combined storage across Choke Canyon and Lake Corpus Christi.
Stage 2
Moderate Shortage
Declared by the City of Corpus Christi, Aug 4, 2026. City of Corpus Christi announcement
As of Sep 13, 5:00 AM CT (Choke Canyon Reservoir 5:00 AM, Lake Corpus Christi 5:00 AM)
Stage 2 (Moderate Shortage)
Storage alone currently implies Stage 1 (Mild Shortage).
The City sets the stage. This site reports what the City has declared and shows the measured storage behind it. It does not work out a stage of its own.
Where each stage starts and what clears it
Every trigger below is a percentage of combined conservation storage across both reservoirs, not the level of either lake on its own.
| Stage | Starts when storage falls below | Clears after 15 days above |
|---|---|---|
| Stage 3Critical Shortage | 20% | 30% |
| Stage 2Moderate ShortageCurrent stage | 30% | 40% |
| Stage 1Mild Shortage | 40% | 50% |
| WatchWater Shortage Watch | 50% | 50% |
| NormalNo Active Shortage | n/a | n/a |
Why a stage can outlast the number
Drought stages initiate when combined storage falls below one of the threshold lines marked on the storage bar (20, 30, 40, and 50 percent). Clearing a stage takes more than climbing back over the line it started at. Storage must rise above the stage's clearance level, which is 30 percent for Stage 3, 40 percent for Stage 2, and 50 percent for Stage 1 and the Watch, and it must stay there for 15 consecutive days. That gap between the initiation line and the clearance level is deliberate. It keeps a single rainstorm from lifting the restrictions that a long dry spell put in place, and it is the reason the stage on this page can read more severe than today's percentage alone would suggest.
Each clearance step moves down one level at a time. When a stage clears, the count starts over against the next stage's clearance level, so working back to Normal from a deep drought takes several consecutive runs, not one.
The City is not bound to clear a stage the moment the arithmetic allows it, and it does not have to wait for the arithmetic either. Its declarations weigh supply projects, demand, and conditions across the system alongside the storage percentage. In August 2026 the City moved from Stage 3 to Stage 2 before storage had held above the clearance level for fifteen days, citing conservation, rainfall, and new supply. That is why the stage shown on this site is the City's declared stage, with the date it was declared, rather than a stage this site calculates on its own.
Water Emergency levels (Level 1 and Level 2) sit outside this ladder entirely. They are triggered by supply versus demand analysis or by infrastructure and contamination events rather than by a storage percentage, and they are determined by the City Manager. Because they have no storage trigger, they do not appear as bands on the storage gauge.
This page reports the drought stage the City has declared and shows where combined storage sits relative to published thresholds. It is not a substitute for the City's own notices.
Nueces Estuary freshwater inflow
The same combined storage percentage that drives drought stages also sets the freshwater inflow target for the Nueces Estuary under the TCEQ 2001 Nueces Estuary Agreed Order. As storage falls, the targeted inflow that must be passed downstream steps down with it.
Nueces Estuary inflow: 97,000 af/yr inflow target, at storage 40% to below 70%, under the TCEQ 2001 Agreed Order.
- ○ 70% and above138,000 af/yr inflow target
- ● 40% to below 70%97,000 af/yr inflow target
- ○ 30% to below 40%Reduced target of 1,200 af/month
- ○ Below 30%Passage of targeted inflows suspended (return flows continue)
Not an official compliance determination.
The Agreed Order matters to reservoir levels because it is one of the demands on the system that does not come from a tap. Water passed for the estuary leaves conservation storage the same way municipal supply does, which is why the tiers are keyed to the same storage percentage the drought stages use.
Storage behind the stage
- Combined StorageLive combined storage for Choke Canyon Reservoir and Lake Corpus Christi, the two lakes that supply Corpus Christi. Percent full, current drought stage, and 12 months of history, updated about every 15 minutes.
- Choke CanyonLive Choke Canyon Reservoir water level. Storage in acre-feet, percent full, surface elevation, and recent change, with Frio River flow at Derby and Tilden and the release below the dam.
- Lake Corpus ChristiLive Lake Corpus Christi water level. Storage in acre-feet, percent full, surface elevation, and recent change, with Nueces and Atascosa river flows feeding the lake.