Water School

Dissolved oxygen, or DO, is the amount of oxygen in surface water available for aquatic life.Aquatic plants and algae contribute to the presence of dissolved oxygen. Dissolved oxygen is necessary for aquatic species, such as fish and insects, that rely on water for their oxygen intake, absorbing it through their gills or bodies.Dissolved oxygen is an important parameter used in water quality monitoring. The concentration of DO in water is dependent on the temperature of the water. Warm water hol...

The headwater is the upper reaches of a stream or reservoir. It can also include the merging of streams that come together to form a river.The Brazos River’s headwater begins at the confluence of its Salt Fork and Double Mountain Fork near the eastern boundary of Stonewall County. The river stretches a total of 938 miles across the state of Texas.Knowledge surrounding a stream or river’s headwater can provide important information about the sources or causes of pollution and nutrient...

A spring is a place where groundwater flows naturally from the Earth’s surface. There are two types: gravity springs and non-gravity springs. Gravity springs can be depression spring, surface springs, or artesian springs.  Depression springs: form when a water table intersects with the ground surface, and the water overflows. A water table is an underground boundary of soil saturation. These types of springs vary depending on the raising and lowering of the water table. ...

Alluvium is sand, clay, gravel, silt or other material deposited by a stream in a streambed, on a flood plain, delta, or base of a mountain.

There are 14 sub-watersheds within the basin, including the Caprock, Salt and Double Mountain Forks, Clear Fork,  and the Upper, Central and Lower watersheds. The Bosque, Leon, Lampasas, Navasota and Little rivers as well as Aquilla, Yegua and Upper Oyster creeks also have sub-watersheds in the basin.

Major aquifers that lie within the basin or that are crossed by it include the Edwards BFZ, Seymour, Edwards-Trinity Plateau, Trinity, Ogallala, Carrizo-Wilcox and Gulf Coast.  For a full sized map, click here.