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Choke Canyon water woes...
#10882454
05/30/15 03:05 AM
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Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 2,497
Will.i.am
OP
Extreme Angler
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OP
Extreme Angler
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 2,497 |
Doing some reading on the water situation and found this. http://www.caller.com/news/local-news/wa...asures_49954242CORPUS CHRISTI - Evaporation, drought and mandatory environmental pass-through releases into the estuary have combined to trigger Stage 2 water restrictions within the city.
An official announcement on the conservation measure is scheduled for Monday. A grace period for compliance will end July 28, according to Brent Clayton, Corpus Christis water resource planner.
Combined, the levels for Choke Canyon Reservoir and Lake Corpus Christi reached 40 percent of capacity this week, which means lawn sprinklers may only be used on a residents regular garbage pickup day. Year round rules forbid lawn irrigation within the city between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Hand-held hose watering carries no restriction under Stage 2.
Lake Corpus Christi is about five feet low and Choke Canyon is about 25 feet low. During May and June the city was forced by a long-standing agreement with the state to release about 30,000 acre-feet of water from the citys reservoir system. An acre foot equals the amount of water it takes to fill an acre to a 12-inch depth. A single acre foot equals about 325,851 gallons.
The agreed order for environmental pass-throughs to the bay stems from negotiations with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality before and since Choke Canyon Reservoir was created. In this legal contract the city and state agreed on target amounts for environmental releases for each month based on historic rainfall amounts.
Each months target amount is different. But these targets are not mandated release amounts. The city may ignore a target amount if no rainwater reaches the reservoir system. The city may release less than the target amount if incoming rainfall falls short of the target. And if rainfall exceeds the target amount the city may capture and keep the overage.
In May, a typically wet month, the reservoir system received about 18,000 acre-feet of rain. The May target amount is 23,500 acre-feet. So the city released 18,000 acre-feet to maintain the health of the Corpus Christi Bay estuary system. When it rains below the Wesley Seale Dam on Lake Corpus Christi, the city gets credit for the estimated amount that falls, which may be subtracted from the pass-through target for that month. And each month the city gets 500 acre-feet of credit for wastewater returned to the bay. This also is subtracted from the pass-through target.
And when the combined reservoir level reaches 40 percent of capacity the pass-through target amounts are dramatically reduced. For example, Julys target amount is 4,500 acre-feet because it is historically a dry month. But the new target amount is 1,839 acre-feet because the reservoirs are at 40 percent.
David Lozano, manager of the Wesley Seale Dam, said river water is not fully owned by residents of the city. He said based on natural laws the water is owed to the river itself as a public resource and ultimately to its final intended destination, which in this case is the estuary for Nueces Bay and Corpus Christi Bay. Without freshwater the bays and estuaries would die, biologists say.
Lozano suggests if water were not released to help maintain heathy bays and the economies that rely on them, the alternative would be wasteful. Holding on to the water is not like putting money in a bank, he said. Money gains interest. Water evaporates.
During the first seven days of July, 2,703 acre-feet of water escaped into the atmosphere from the wide and shallow Lake Corpus Christi, which currently holds about 167,157 acre-feet of water. The lake capacity is 257,260 acre-feet.
At Choke Canyon Reservoir, a much deeper body that can retain a greater percentage of its volume, the evaporation rate is 1,918 acre-feet per week. The volume of Choke Canyon currently is about 211,095 acre-feet, Lozano said. It is capable of holding 695,271 acre-feet.
During summer, the reservoirs combined daily or weekly evaporation rate can exceed the amount of water used by residents of Corpus Christi, surrounding communities, agriculture and industry during the same time period, he said.
Our objective here is to try to conserve as much water as possible while sticking to the agreed order, Lozano said. Believe me, were not trying to drain the lake. But holding on to (the water) would give people a false sense of security because of how much we lose from evaporation. That would be a waste.
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Re: Choke Canyon water woes...
[Re: Will.i.am]
#10882484
05/30/15 03:15 AM
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 16,181
grout-scout
TFF Guru
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TFF Guru
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 16,181 |
Great, all they are lacking now is common sense for those times that a river is flooding and a lake that is low doesn't need to be flushed.
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Re: Choke Canyon water woes...
[Re: Will.i.am]
#10882536
05/30/15 03:42 AM
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Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 2,497
Will.i.am
OP
Extreme Angler
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OP
Extreme Angler
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 2,497 |
I find it hard to believe a day/weeks worth of evaporation uses up more water then the people of Corpus.
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Re: Choke Canyon water woes...
[Re: Will.i.am]
#10882538
05/30/15 03:43 AM
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Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 7,618
361V
TFF Celebrity
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TFF Celebrity
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 7,618 |
"But holding on to (the water) would give people a false sense of security because of how much we lose from evaporation." ??????
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Re: Choke Canyon water woes...
[Re: Will.i.am]
#10882604
05/30/15 04:36 AM
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Joined: May 2009
Posts: 7,082
horseplaydvm
TFF Celebrity
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TFF Celebrity
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 7,082 |
"Waste" is the key word in that whole article.
Gone Fishing B.A.S. 6/5/47-6/6/12 C.W.S. 9/29/72- 10/17/23
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Re: Choke Canyon water woes...
[Re: Will.i.am]
#10882654
05/30/15 05:38 AM
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Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 29,840
Duck_Hunter
TFF Guru
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TFF Guru
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 29,840 |
David Lozano was either misquoted at the end or needs to provide further explanation.
Am I missing something? A full lake would provide more usable water and the effects of evaporation would be felt less in the future if, next week, it stops raining and doesn't start again for a few years. But by releasing water now, as the lake has come up, they are creating a new normal, which is below the holding capacity of the lake, it appears and evaporation will still occur, only it will be depleting a smaller water supply than if they didn't let water out.
Surely, it can't be as simple as I think it is and I'm missing something obvious.
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Re: Choke Canyon water woes...
[Re: Duck_Hunter]
#10882707
05/30/15 06:50 AM
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Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 317
Big Lunker
Angler
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Angler
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 317 |
David Lozano was either misquoted at the end or needs to provide further explanation.
Am I missing something? A full lake would provide more usable water and the effects of evaporation would be felt less in the future if, next week, it stops raining and doesn't start again for a few years. But by releasing water now, as the lake has come up, they are creating a new normal, which is below the holding capacity of the lake, it appears and evaporation will still occur, only it will be depleting a smaller water supply than if they didn't let water out.
Surely, it can't be as simple as I think it is and I'm missing something obvious. I agree with you, I always said let the lake receive as much water as it can first, before you go to these agreements of release. We can't do anything about the evaporation of water each day, but at least give the lake a chance to fill up and then implement your regulations( which could be re-negotiated) if they wanted to. Very sad situation for Choke. May not ever see that lake full again.
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Re: Choke Canyon water woes...
[Re: Will.i.am]
#10882909
05/30/15 12:49 PM
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Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 6,103
Billy Blazer 300 HPDI
TFF Celebrity
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TFF Celebrity
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 6,103 |
I lived in Corpus with my job twice. If you live there you will realize why its been the slowest growing large city in the state of Texas for the last 30 years.
That whole water situation is just one of the issues that place has.
I'm of the opinion all this water stuff got started years ago by a select few that ran the city to drop the lake levels at Lake CC and drop the property value so it could be bought up and resold. They came up with info to get these laws passed based on the right balance of fresh water in the back bay. It didn't work out, everybody bought into this water release plan long term and it stuck. Not only did it stuck but it grew, read the article posted above. They have convinced themselves the lower the water levels are in the lake the better off they are no matter what.
These guys running this mess all but have a party every time they draw Lake CC down to the river channel like it was before the built the lake.
At one time lake front property on Lake CC was big business. That went by the way side as one of the best bass fishing lakes in the state dried up. Most people have no idea what it was like to fish Lake CC in the mid 80s.
Folks built nice houses and ended up with docks a 100 yards from the water, not exactly good for property value.
At times they have released so much water the Shrimpers complained years back.
I was glad to get to move to Houston.
Thanks, Billy
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Re: Choke Canyon water woes...
[Re: Will.i.am]
#10884311
05/31/15 12:18 AM
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Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 193
jgf131/tx
Outdoorsman
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Outdoorsman
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 193 |
things are really bad if you are glad to move to Houston LMAO
jgf131/tx
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Re: Choke Canyon water woes...
[Re: Will.i.am]
#10884654
05/31/15 02:37 AM
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 524
PhishWhisperer
Pro Angler
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Pro Angler
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 524 |
I fished Lake CC from 1980 to 1990. It was sorry!
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