Water School

The water cycle is the continuous process of water moving from Earth's oceans, atmosphere and land. This cycle does not move in a particular order but in many different variations because different variables impact it like, topography, temperature and location.      Through precipitation, water condenses, forming a liquid and falling to the Earth as rain, snow, hail or fog. Once on the ground, water either remains in its liquid state, freezes, becoming ice or evaporates, or be...

The rate of the river flow is measured in cubic feet per second (cfs), which is the measure of the volume of water passing any given point in a river in one second. One cubic foot of water is about the size of a beachball. These levels are measured by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) along the course of the waterflow at different points, or subsections, along a marked line. A river will typically be measured approximately 25 to 30 times at regularly spaced locations. USGS gage loc...

An acre-foot is commonly used to measure water volume. It is the amount of water needed to cover one acre (43,560 square feet) with one foot of water. One acre-foot is equal to 325,851 gallons of water, enough to cover a football field with a foot of water.Measuring acre footage is an important way to calculate the volume of large water resources, like irrigation sources, reservoirs, sewers, canals, and human-made lakes, such as Possum Kingdom Lake, which is located in Palo Pinto, Jack, Young, ...

A drought is generally considered to be a prolonged period of less-than-normal precipitation such that the lack of water causes below-average streamflow or lake levels, lowered soil moisture, crop damage, or economic losses.  Droughts are globally the second-most costly weather event behind hurricanes, according to National Geographic. In Texas, during the 2011 drought, an estimated $7.62 billion was lost by farmers and ranchers, according to Texas AgriLife. Not only are droughts one o...

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 ...

Floodgates are solid metal barriers in a dam that can be opened to release flood waters downstream.