X
GO

Water School

Archive by tag: streamReturn

What is flood stage?

Flood stage is an established gage height within a creek or river above which a rise in water surface level is described as a flood. This is the elevation at which the overflow of the natural banks of a stream or body of water begins.The gage height is the height of the water surface above a predetermined point. Once the gage height becomes too high in the lowest bank of reach this is when flood damage begins to impact an area. The National Weather Service uses gage height numbers to inform peop...
Read More
What is the Brazos River?

What is the Brazos River?

The Brazos River is the longest river contained entirely in Texas, with its watershed stretching from New Mexico to the Gulf of Mexico. The Brazos River draw lies approximately 50 miles west of the Texas-New Mexico border, beginning a watershed that stretches 1,050 miles and comprises 44,620 square miles, 42,000 of which are in Texas.The Brazos River proper is formed at the confluence of the upper forks of the river, the Salt and Double Mountain, in Stonewall County. The Clear Fork joins th...
Read More

What is a flood plain?

A floodplain is any ordinarily dry land area susceptible to inundation by water. This area is usually low, flat, and next to a stream or other body of water. Living on a floodplain can be especially dangerous in the circumstance that flooding does occur. There is always some risk for those on a floodplain, whether it’s people, businesses, or agriculture. Some floodplains are clearly defined by natural features, by infrastructure made by people, or not clearly outlined.Some floodplains are ...
Read More

What is the gage height or stage?

The gage height or stage is the height of the water surface above an established datum point, such as in a river above a predetermined point.  The gage height does not represent the depth of the river.
Read More

What is datum?

Datum is the basis for relating a river's stage to mean sea level. (datum + stage = elevation in feet above mean sea level)
Read More

What is a gaging station?

A gaging station is a site on a stream, lake, reservoir or other body of water where observations and hydrologic data such as gage height and stream discharge are obtained.
Read More

What is a tributary?

A tributary is a small river or stream that merges or flows into a larger river or stream. A river typically has several tributaries.Numerous tributaries feed into the Brazos River including the Clear, Salt and Double Mountain forks of the Brazos as well as the Navasota, Bosque, Nolan, and Little rivers and Yegua Creek. In addition, those tributaries each have several sub-tributaries, including numerous creeks as well as the Leon and San Gabriel Rivers, among others.
Read More

What is a watershed? A subwatershed?

A watershed is the land area or topographic region that drains into a particular stream, river, or lake. This land feature can be identified by tracing a line on a map along the highest elevations between two areas.Large watersheds may contain hundreds or thousands of smaller subwatersheds that drain into the river or other waterbody. The Brazos River watershed encompasses more than 42,000 square miles and includes many smaller streams and rivers with their own smaller watersheds.
Read More

What is a 100-year flood?

A 100-year flood is a flood event that it has a 1 percent chance of happening in any given year. The term “100-year” is a measure of a flood’s size, not how often it occurs. Although statistically unlikely, several 100-year floods can occur within the same year or a few short years. It is also called the base flood.
Read More
Search
Categories

The information provided on this site is intended as background on water within the Brazos River basin. There should be no expectation that this information is all encompassing, complete or in any way examines every aspect of this very complex natural resource.

If you have questions about a post or would like additional information, please contact us or call 888-922-6272.

Tags
supply jobs depth quality rights dock treatment E. coli fork river inland fish kill invasive plants wetlands watercourse septic agriculture water cycle water code water supply authority lakes ground water sediment soil costs kayak runoff filter corps releases drilling channel chlorine taste spring estuary emergency use industrial sanitation insurance farming brackish fertilizer sludge E coli lawn impound storage boating wetland limestone inundated flood pool monitor turbidity dam algae recreation conservation bottled water gulf hunting drinking water mission main stem water planning volume employment salt medicine canoe solids speaker riparian potable meta tag water canoeing groundwater water use precipitation governance calcium planning lake levels subwatershed water rights gate basin USGS municipal environmental pollutants classification golden algea use corps of engineers surface water contaminants camping bay mainstem reservoir water quality clarity watershed legislation beneficial use direct re-use wildlife streamflow indirect re-use climate flood possum kingdom aquifer golden algae hydrilla salinity acre-feet streamflow TCEQ hydrologic cycle subsidence electricity aerobic flood control lake chlorides smell pharmaceuticals PAM industry dissolved solids system gas spillway wastewater lake biosolids electric companies parasite bed and banks tributary agricultural hydropower riverine oxygen habitat water plants mgd water treatment environment cfs evaporation rain granbury reservoirs appropriation effluent subsidence district drought xeriscape organic allens creek reservoir fishing sewage hydrology measure well contract marsh water clarity stream Board maps consumption minerals acre-foot mitigation anaerobic gage infection permit map landscaping septic system lake level