TCEQ Commissioners Affirm Emergency Order Suspending Pass-Through Releases into Bays and Estuaries

Corpus Christi, TX – Today, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) Commissioners unanimously affirmed the Executive Director’s emergency order to temporarily suspend required pass-through releases to the Bays and Estuaries from the region’s Western Reservoirs.

The order was originally requested by the City of Corpus Christi, the Nueces River Authority, and the City of Three Rivers to temporarily suspend reservoir pass-through releases under the 2001 Agreed Order.

The Commissioners’ action confirms the emergency order approved by the TCEQ Executive Director on August 25, which allows water that would otherwise be released to meet bay and estuary inflow requirements to remain in storage within the regional water supply system as long as combined storage in Choke Canyon Reservoir and Lake Corpus Christi remains at or below 50%.

The order remains in effect for 120 days, through December 23, 2026. At that time, the TCEQ will review conditions at the Western Reservoirs to determine whether an additional 60-day extension is warranted.

The City thanks the TCEQ Commissioners and its partners in Austin for their continued support as the City manages available water supplies amid the ongoing drought and advances projects to strengthen and diversify the region’s long-term water supply.

For more information, contact Ashley Marion, Strategic Business Manager, at (361)826-3706 or ashleym6@cctexas.com.