Corpus Christi, TX Environmental Rules: Boat Dock Permits (2026)

Corpus Christi's adopted Building Code, Section 3116, Boat Docks and Moorings, makes it unlawful to place, build, or maintain any dock, pier, mooring, piling, post, pipe, or pole in waters within the city limits, or in Lake Corpus Christi Reservoir below elevation 94 feet above mean sea level, without a permit under Sec. 2. The building official issues the permit, but a dock in the Lake Corpus Christi Reservoir also needs authorization from the city's Chief Operating Officer of Corpus Christi Water, a structure over submerged land controlled by the Texas General Land Office needs the TGLO Commissioner's authorization, and a structure on land patented by the state needs a lease from the city.

The permit must specify the structure's dimensions, materials, and the upland parcel it attaches to, and compliance with the city permit does not excuse an applicant from getting any other required state or federal authorization. Sec. 1 sets construction standards for boat docks and fishing piers: they must be built of reinforced concrete and/or heavy timber, with wood piles pressure-impregnated to AWPA Standards U1 and T1 and driven to a depth below the mud line equal to at least half the length of the cut-off pile.

Piers must be designed to carry a 50-pound-per-square-foot live load, wooden decking must be at least two inches thick, and all hardware must be hot-dipped galvanized under ASTM A153-61. A licensed Texas professional engineer must design every boat dock and fishing pier. If a dock is damaged, Sec. 12 allows it to be rebuilt at its original elevation only if at least 75 percent of the existing pilings are still sound, as determined by the building official; any pier that doesn't meet that threshold, or that isn't fully rebuilt, must be completely removed.