Newly proposed rules for how water is managed citywide through drought are under consideration, with potential changes ranging from adjustments in optional surcharges to loosening some use restrictions for watering vegetation.
The draft plan was publicly released Jan. 24. A final version of a plan is expected to be finalized Feb. 11 in a Corpus Christi City Council vote.
Although it has been under construction for about two years, questions raised last week about whether the timeframe was adequate to review the latest iteration of the plan -- and give input before a final version is adopted -- prompted a public meeting.
Set to include a presentation and public comment, the meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at council chambers in City Hall.
Talks have been ongoing with representatives from the business community, including those that are among the hardest-hit under drought restrictions, such as landscaping and irrigation companies, city staff has said.
But residents needed more time to review the proposal before one is adopted, City Councilwoman Sylvia Campos told heads of Corpus Christi Water on Tuesday, saying that it was "too important to just rush."
"I want to make sure we all understand it," she said.
The drought contingency plan -- a document required by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, according to officials -- outlines regulations of how and when residents, commercial businesses and industry use water in the midst of drought.
The city is currently under Stage 3 water restrictions, which are called when the combined capacities of Lake Corpus Christi and Choke Canyon Reservoir drop below 20%.
As of Friday, the combined capacities measured at 18.8%, according to city data -- what is considered a critically low shortage.
In part, the updates are intended to offer relief to companies that are particularly vulnerable to impacts of drought restrictions, staff told council members last week during a lengthy discussion of the city's water supplies, the volume of available water and stats on consumption.
Among other proposed changes are those that would adjust how much money could be assessed if optional drought surcharges were applied to water bills, the proposal shows.
Although the draft plan passed in an initial vote Tuesday, officials indicated that it was likely the document would see revisions prior to its final approval.
Some said the initial approval was intended to get the wheels rolling toward changes that would be helpful for businesses suffering under current regulations.
"Some of these changes ... are important for some of the businesses that are really feeling the pinch from some of this," said Drew Molly, chief operating officer of Corpus Christi Water.
Some, said City Councilwoman Carolyn Vaughn, "are about to go under."
Although the drought contingency plan has long been in development, a slide in a PowerPoint presentation shows a proposal had been presented to the City Council in January 2023, followed by public listening sessions a month later.
It's a good plan, Coastal Bend Industry Association Executive Director Bob Paulison told the council Tuesday, but said the association was giving it additional review.
Among questions are updates to a provision on surcharges "and their impact on sort of undercutting the incentive to participate in a drought surcharge exemption fee," he said.
Trey Summers, chief operations officer of Hogan Homes, described "some great additions to the plans," but added that he had concerns about an optional measure included in both the current and the proposed draft plan that, if enacted, would limit new water meters under Stage 3 drought restrictions.
That provision could be taken by municipalities "as a way to weaponize growth and new construction," he said.
While there are several optional measures in the draft and current drought contingency plan -- such as surcharges or limiting new water connections -- those provisions cannot be implemented without a separate vote from the council specifically approving the optional measures going into effect.
Should a final version of the plan be approved Feb. 11, it would go into effect the following day.
Here's a breakdown of some of the proposed updates, according to city documents.
Drought surcharges
No drought surcharges are currently being assessed.
"We are not considering enacting surcharges for Stage 3 that we're currently in," wrote City Manager Peter Zanoni in a message to the Caller Times. "However, if/when we go into Stage 4, we would more closely review recommending the use of surcharges with the City Council who ultimately would have to approve them."
The present plan states an optional surcharge could as much as double a residential water bill once exceeding 3,000 gallons of water.
The proposed optional surcharges wouldn't kick in until after a residential account exceeds 7,000 gallons, city officials said.
At that point, a surcharge could be applied to the bill for each 1,000 gallons over 7,000 gallons, city officials have said.
The average water usage for residential accounts is about 6,000 gallons, city officials have said in the past.
Instead of leaving the potential surcharge open-ended -- and reaching as high as doubling the water bill -- the proposal calls for a $1 surcharge per 1,000 gallons over 7,000 gallons during Stage 2 water restrictions; $2 during Stage 3 restrictions; and during a water emergency, $4, according to city documents.
For every 1,000 gallons over 55,000 gallons, commercial accounts under the proposal could be assessed a $1 surcharge during Stage 2 drought restrictions; $2 during Stage 3 drought restrictions; and $4 during a water emergency, a news release states.
For large-volume accounts not paying an optional drought surcharge exemption fee, the surcharges would go into effect for each 1,000 gallons of water over about 12.8 million gallons of water, a city email shows.
In that case, under the proposal, a $1 surcharge could be levied for each 1,000 gallons over the 12.8 million gallons during Stage 2 restrictions; $2 during Stage 3; and $4 during a water emergency, documents show.
Proposed changes to Stage 2 rules
The day most residents are permitted under Stage 2 restrictions to water landscape with automatic irrigation systems is the same day as the address's trash pick-up day. Like automatic irrigation systems, landscape watering with an open-ended hose -- one without a positive shut-off nozzle -- would be restricted to the single designated day every other week.
Proposed changes to Stage 3 rules
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