Water School

Texas streams and rivers are in constant motion and the waters they pour into our reservoirs carry with them a continuous but varying amount of sediment.

When the water is slowed or stopped as it runs into a reservoir or by a dam, the sediment drops to the bottom. This sediment builds up year after year and at some point, fills the reservoir to a point it can no longer continue to serve its purpose in flood control or water supply. Without expensive dredging, this would be the end of the reservoir’s effective “lifetime.”  The average life of a reservoir in Texas is considered to be about 100 years.