On Oct. 21, Canyon Lake held 96.9% of its conservation storage while the Edwards Aquifer Authority listed the San Antonio Pool at Stage 3.
Those figures describe different water systems and different kinds of measurement; the lake percentage alone does not tell a household what watering schedule applies at its address.
The Texas Water Development Board reported Canyon Lake at 96.9% of conservation storage on Oct. 21. That figure compares the reservoir’s stored water with its conservation-storage capacity. A separate U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reading put the lake surface at 907.55 feet at 11 p.m. CDT, 1.45 feet below the 909-foot conservation pool. The percentage and elevation are two ways the official sources describe the reservoir, rather than readings of the Edwards Aquifer.
What the aquifer readings say
The Edwards Aquifer Authority's Stage 3 status calls for a 35% reduction in permitted pumping in the San Antonio Pool. Its Oct. 21 conditions also put the 10-day average at the J-17 monitoring well at 639.9 feet and the Comal Springs 10-day average flow at 152 cubic feet per second. Those aquifer and spring readings answer different questions from a reservoir-storage percentage. The retained records do not establish that a change in Canyon Lake storage caused the aquifer stage.