Water School

The on-water facility fee to place a dock on a BRA reservoir basically allows the permit holder to build and maintain a permanent structure over BRA property (the lake bed). It also gives the BRA the ability to ensure that the docks that are constructed on the reservoir are safe. The permit fee is not a tax, but a one-time fee.  There are no longer annual fees to maintain a dock on a BRA reservoir.  For an on-water facility permit application, click here.

Lakeside property owners can build docks on a BRA-owned reservoir if they complete an On-Water Facility Permit application and pay the relevant fees for inspection of the facility plans and completed work.  Lake regulations set requirements property owners must meet when building a dock.  Details on these regulations may be found in Section 7 of the BRA regulations.Permit applications may be obtained at each reservoir's office or by going to the appropriate website: Possu...

Motorized boats, sailboats extending 14 feet or longer, and vessels documented by the U.S. Coast Guard all must show proof of state registration when operating on Texas public waters, which includes the Brazos River, according to Texas law. This law does not apply to non-motorized rubber rafts, kayaks, punts, rowboats, or other vessels under 14 feet in length that have the ability to be paddled, oared, windblown, or poled. To learn more about water vessel requirements of public Texas waters, cli...

Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis, or PAM, is a disease caused by the ameba Naegleria fowleri. It infects humans when water containing this ameba enters the body through the nostrils, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.  The infected water travels to the brain through the nose, destroying brain tissue. While rare, PAM affects 1 to 3 people in the U.S. every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. PAM is usually fatal. Early symptoms of PAM...

The US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) operates eight flood control reservoirs within the Brazos River basin that, through a contract with the federal government, also serve as water supply impoundments for the Brazos River Authority system of reservoirs.Lakes Proctor, Whitney, Aquilla, Belton, Stillhouse Hollow, Georgetown, Granger, and Somerville store water for use by municipal, agricultural, industrial, and mining use.Similar to the Authority’s three water supply reservoirs, water cont...

Allens Creek Reservoir is a planned water storage lake permitted for construction on Allens Creek, a tributary of the Brazos River, in Austin County. The permit to build the lake was originally issued to Houston Lighting and Power (Reliant Energy) in 1974 by the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, now known as the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).The reservoir was originally to have served as a cooling lake for a nuclear power plant. When Reliant Energy abandoned plan...