Water School

The conservation pool of a reservoir is a specified amount of water dedicated to water storage. This water is to be used to meet water needs, including municipal, domestic, agricultural, industrial, and recreational.

To overdraft a reservoir, aquifer or basin is to withdraw water out faster than the water can be replenished by rain, runoff or percolation.  Overdraft may also refer to an use of the permitted yield of a reservoir.

A flood pool is a specified area within a flood control lake and the surrounding land that may only be inundated during periods of flooding. This allows the flow of waters to be regulated and released in a safe manner.

Evaporation is the process in the water cycle in which liquid water becomes water vapor.

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.

A drought of record is the worst recorded drought since compilation of meteorologic and hydrologic data began.  In terms of severity and duration, the devastating drought of the 1950s is considered the drought of record for many areas in the Brazos River basin. This drought lasted a decade in many places and covered much of the nation, including all of Texas.  In 2008-2009, some parts of the state recorded a new drought of record.