The city's two main water sources reached their lowest levels in history on Monday.Lake Corpus Christi and Choke Canyon Reservoir reached 10% combined capacity on Jan. 12, according to the city's Daily Reservoir and Pass-Thru St atus Report. Lake Corpus Christi stands at 11.6% capacity while Choke Canyon sits at 9.4%.No water emergency has been declared. The city remains under Stage 3 drought restrictions.Under the city's Drought Contingency Plan, no specific operational changes are mandated when the western reservoirs fall below 10%. The next trigger point occurs when the entire water supply system reaches 180 days from the point at which total water supply would no longer meet total water demand. The city projects this will occur in November 2026, at which time a Level 1 Water Emergency would be initiated.City officials said the western reservoir levels alone do not determine when a water emergency takes effect. Currently, 65% of the city's water comes from eastern sources including Lake Texana and the Colorado River.City's Plan to Avoid Water EmergencyAs KRIS 6 News previously reported, the city needs 60 million gallons of new water daily before November 2026 to avoid a Level One water emergency.City Manager Peter Zanoni previously told KRIS 6 that the city can reach that target if all projects come online as planned. "If you include Evangeline, all of the reserved allocations, and all of the wells it's a little more than 60 million," Zanoni said."If everything comes online as we are anticipating, there is no curtailment. Supply will always be enough for demand," Zanoni told KRIS 6.Councilman Eric Cantu told KRIS 6 the numbers add up but the margin for error is small.In December Moody's Ratings downgraded the city's credit rating, citing the city's urgent need to secure more water and the narrow window in which to do so.Moody's noted in its analysis that the expected completion dates for water projects line up closely with when the city anticipates reaching a water emergency, leaving minimal room for construction or permitting delays.According to the rating agency's analysis, the city's own projections show water demand will exceed available supply by April 2027.The Evangeline Groundwater Project could bring up to 24 million gallons per day, though it will start with half that amount when it comes online in November 2026.According to a Jan. 2 memo from Interim Chief Operating Officer Nicholas Winkelmann, Evangeline Laguna LP and city staff met with the San Patricio County Groundwater Conservation District on Dec. 29, 2025, to discuss drilling and transport permit applications. The district said it could still be multiple weeks before determining if the 22 drilling permit applications and one transport permit application are administratively complete.The contract between Evangeline Laguna LP and the city has not been executed. Evangeline Laguna had scheduled mediation with landowners last week to finalize surface use agreements.According to that memo, in early January Lake Texana was at 66% capacity, according to the Lavaca-Navidad River Authority (LNRQA). On the same date in 2024, the reservoir was at 73% capacity.The LNRA's drought contingency plan mandates reductions in pumping when the lake level drops to 50% capacity. City staff was set to meet with the authority and Formosa last week to discuss forecasted conditions and the potential for pumping restrictions. ...read more read less