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Two of Corpus Christi’s three main reservoirs have rebounded as recent rains offer signs of relief for the coastal city that’s been edging toward a water shortage.

Lake Texana reached 98% capacity Friday morning, a big leap from 56% three months ago.

Lake Corpus Christi jumped from 8% capacity last month to 18%. Rains missed Choke Canyon, which is further northwest and remains at 8% capacity.

The city has been bracing to enact emergency water restrictions by the end of the year. City leaders had estimated that by December, a Level 1 emergency would have to be triggered because the city would be an estimated six months from supply falling short of demand.

City Manager Peter Zanoni said the recent rains may push that projection to early 2027. The city’s water department is expected to make an official announcement during a City Council meeting on June 23.

Residents have been living under water restrictions since 2024 when Lake Corpus Christi and Choke Canyon dipped below 20% capacity. When they fell below 10% capacity earlier this year, Zanoni began warning the community of tighter mandates.

Initial estimates showed the city running short of water by summer, but Zanoni said the city had a recent run of luck.

“We had tremendous rainfall that hit the perfect spot for our western reservoirs,” he said in a Friday news conference.

The last time Lake Texana was at around 100% capacity was summer 2025, according to Water Data for Texas.

“The rain we’re seeing now is very different than what we’ve seen in the past five years, and so this gives us hope,” he said. “We need the rain to get through this, to get through this drought of record.”

Choke Canyon is the region’s largest reservoir. At full capacity, it holds four times more water than Lake Texana and more than double the amount in Lake Corpus Christi.

Zanoni said the city is optimistic that the “super” El Niño expected this summer will bring even more rain to the Coastal Bend — hopefully quenching the historic drought that has gripped the region.

The city is relying on a patchwork of temporary solutions to meet demand, but only large amounts of rain can save it from a crisis.

“These rains that we have will help get us through these next couple of months,” he said. “And if it’s dry in the summer, that’s OK because the reservoirs will be at a decent level.”

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colleen.deguzman@texastribune.org x Colleen DeGuzman is a general assignments reporter. In addition to covering a broad range of topics, she focuses on immigration developments in the state. Before joining the newsroom, Colleen was an enterprise... More by Colleen DeGuzman