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BRA celebrates 90 year anniversary, looks ahead

Wed, 01/30/2019 - 12:00 am
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    The Morris Sheppard Dam at Possum Kingdom Lake began construction in 1936 with funding through President Roosevelt’s Public Works Administration Program. Pictured is progress of the dam as of Oct. 15, 1939. The dam was completed in 1941. Contributed pho

The Brazos River Authority (BRA) is celebrating their 90 year anniversary and is predicting what the weather has in store for the river basin including Possum Kingdom Lake in 2019.

In 1929, the Texas Legislature formed the Brazos River Conservation and Reclamation District, eventually renamed to the BRA in 1953, to tame the state’s largest river after a loss more than 200 lives and millions of dollars in property damage due to flooding from 1913 to 1921.

The BRA would become the first agency of its kind in the United States. The organization was responsible for over 42,000 squared miles which was home to about 16 percent of the state’s population without state funding or the power to levy taxes.

The first goal of the organization was to build a reservoir which could help control flooding. However, the Flood Control Act of 1936 would give U.S. Army Corps authority of all flood projects in the nation. The BRA began to focus on water supply to support the growth of population in Texas.

It was through President Roosevelt’s Public Works Administration Program the BRA was able obtain funding for the first three water supply reservoirs in the basin. Construction began on Morris Shepard Dam began in 1936 and finished in 1941. On May 4, 1941 a gage located north registered streamflow at 87,400 cubic feet per second filling Possum Kingdom Lake in three weeks. Construction cranes which had not been removed were washed downstream.

Throughout its 90 year history the BRA took on more roles including controlling the Brazos River through reservoirs, water supply management, water quality and treatment and water planning.

“What we’ve learned in the past 90 years is that there is no way to control Mother Nature,” David Collinsworth, general manage and chief executive officer of the Brazos River Authority, said in a press release. “There is a way, however, to blunt and lessen the effect of a once uncontrollable resource, expand its supply to support a growing population, and work with the state to monitor and maintain the quality of this precious resource.”

Looking Ahead

On Aug. 30, 2018, nearly all of the Brazos River basin was experiencing drought conditions. Then a mild El Niño hit and within six weeks the basin was entirely drought free. Morris Shepard Dam released water continuously for 30 days.

“We began (2018) with a mild La Niña, which contributed to dry conditions over the winter and spring,” said Texas State Climatologist, John Nielsen-Gammon, in a press release. “The tropical Pacific gradually warmed, and presently El Niño conditions are in place, but enhanced rainfall from El Niño really wouldn’t have kicked in until November. So, I think Texas weather is mostly to blame.”

As the year continues into the early spring months Aaron Abel, Water Services manager for the BRA, said it is likely additional gate operations will be require at Possum Kingdom Lake to pass inflows if rain continues.

“With saturated soils over most of the basin, particularly upstream of Possum Kingdom Lake, any rain over the next several months will produce runoff, associated inflows into reservoirs, and reservoir releases,” Abel said in a press release. “During the winter months with dormant vegetation and lower evaporative rates due to shorter days with less sunlight, water losses in the watershed are much lower than during the remainder of the year. So, soils stay wet.”

“As of late December, NOAA’s (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) three-month outlook indicated above normal rainfall probabilities for all of the Brazos basin over the months of January, February, and March,” Abel said. “If we receive average or even below average rainfall over the next several months, reservoir levels will remain full. The rain that has already fallen over the last several months has caused streamflow and reservoir inflows to stay above normal and it will take some time for them to recede even if we get into a drier pattern.”

The latest seasonal drought outlook predicts no drought development in the state through March, outside of the areas where drought currently exists in the far west and the panhandle according to the BRA.