Water School

The mission of the Brazos River Authority is to develop, manage and protect the water resources of the Brazos River basin.

The Brazos River Authority Board of Directors is made up of 21 men and women from across the Brazos basin who are appointed by the Texas Governor. They serve staggered six-year terms. For a list of current board members, their photos and biographical information, go here.

The Brazos River Authority is governed by a Board of Directors. Board members are appointed by the Governor of Texas with advice and consent of the state Senate. The organization is accountable to the Governor, the Legislature, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and the cities, businesses and individuals throughout the basin to whom we sell water.

The Texas Legislature created the Clean Rivers Program in 1991 when it passed the Texas Clean Rivers Act. Legislators’ goal was to push Texas towards comprehensive water planning and management to ensure the future quality of the water supply.The state designated the Brazos River Authority as the lead agency to conduct water quality assessment and Clean Rivers Program (CRP) planning in the Brazos River watershed. Every one to three months depending on location, the BRA tests water for everythin...

Authorized by the state, the Brazos River Authority’s system operations permit allows the BRA to sell up to 705,000 acre-feet of water basin-wide from the 11 system reservoirs and the rivers within the watershed. The system permit allows the BRA to draw the water from any of the reservoirs and rivers included in the system allowing the BRA to utilize the sources with the largest storage of water at any specific time.

Wastewater is water that has been used in homes, industries, and businesses that has been in contact with human or industrial waste and cannot be reused or returned to the water cycle until it has been treated or cleaned.