No room for error: How big is big and how bad is bad?

River authorities across the Lone Star State may share similar names, but they differ in many ways. As special districts created by the Texas Legislature, some are major power players generating electricity for their communities, while others, like the Brazos River Authority, focus on water supply, treatment, or quality. Some cover portions of a single river or a single county, while the BRA’s watershed spans an area the size of the state of Tennessee, reaching from the Texas-New Mexico border all the way down to the salt air of the Gulf.

With the size of the basin, managing heavy rain events requires a dedicated team of “what if” thinkers who plan for any situation.

Flooding is likely the first scenario that comes to mind when discussing an organization that owns and operates three water supply reservoirs in the basin.

But here’s the kicker: The BRA’s three reservoirs – lakes Possum Kingdom, Granbury, and Limestone – were built for water supply and have no flood control. This means that when the reservoir is full, and more rain enters it, such as from local rain or upstream runoff headed its way, water must be released to protect the integrity of that dam. What comes in, must go out. These dams, which hold back so much water, are integral in providing water for drinking, cooking, cleaning, farming, electricity, and so much more. Ensuring those dams remain safe is a major priority.

So, what happens to the cities and communities downstream as river levels rise with rain events?

The work begins long before a single raindrop falls.

Communication is paramount. Relationships are the real infrastructure. Emergency action plans are practiced, revised, practiced, revised, and practiced again, so when it’s time to put them into play, any decisions and actions are already ingrained.

Hurricane Harvey is a reminder of how that can play out, said Donnie Naylor, the BRA’s emergency manager, whose been in the field for 36 years.

“You know, you had a unique hurricane that came ashore. It went out, and then it came back in again. But when it came back in with the same intensity and moved up in our basin, we were already in a situation where communities were flooded,” Naylor said. "The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) started making releases from their reservoirs to protect critical infrastructure. And so, what are we doing? Floodwaters are moving down into an area that's already inundated. And so, BRA emergency management was already in constant communication with USACE, regarding their releases, and with affected counties and Texas Department of Emergency Management (TDEM) disaster districts, to let them know what is going on, so that they can make the proper arrangements to protect public health and safety.”

Preparation begins early. There are 74 counties in the Brazos River Basin. Of those, up to 30 are downstream of BRA or USACE reservoirs. That doesn’t include all the cities and BRA customers in the same potentially affected area. The basin is so big that of the state’s 25 disaster districts, eight of those touch our basin, he said. So, there are a number of people to keep in the loop. BRA works to develop relationships with every one of those emergency management officials, from cities to counties. This is beneficial so that when BRA notifies them of water releases or other events, they understand the potential impact to their community and can make informed decisions to protect their public health and safety.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality regulations make it the dam owner's responsibility to protect and maintain that critical infrastructure. We coordinate with the BRA hydrologists, reservoir staff, and engineers to calculate a release rate that is protective of our infrastructure and releases the least amount of water downstream possible. The intent is to reduce impacts downstream as much as possible into the areas that may be affected by local rainfalls

Every year, BRA leads a series of meetings and tabletop exercises in which city and county leaders, as well as TDEM’s disaster district and regional officials, review the emergency action plan for each reservoir, ensuring everyone understands their responsibilities. Those local leaders play really important roles in their communities. The Texas Government Code identifies county judges and mayors as the responsible parties for actions such as local emergency planning, evacuation orders, shelter-in-place notices, public alert notifications, and other public orders related to disasters.

“I feel very confident that the BRA takes a very proactive approach in supporting our cities and counties,” he said. “The BRA’s emergency management team’s role is to support - that’s it,” Naylor said. “Support the BRA’s mission statement, support BRA’s contracts, support BRA in protecting its critical infrastructure. The goal is to take the communication role and let BRA’s technical experts (hydrologists, engineers, and reservoir staff) focus on their core roles. We’re a support mechanism regardless of whether it's at the local level, city level, county, or state level.”

However, one way to notify emergency management officials is through the BRA’s mass notification system, Naylor said. This system allows the organization to very quickly inform local leaders downstream of a dam, for instance, if a large release is being made, so they can make the best decisions for their communities.

Of course, possible flooding and gate releases are far from the only situations the BRA must prepare for.

A tornado once ripped through Belton, affecting the wastewater treatment plant that the BRA operates in the area. In 2011, the state requested the BRA close Possum Kingdom Lake to everyone except emergency workers due to a massive wildfire burning through the area. There are a variety of natural and man-made disasters that BRA Emergency Management has to be prepared to respond to.

The BRA also operates a series of wastewater treatment plants for communities.

During Hurricane Harvey, the BRA activated emergency management plans to minimize impacts to our customers’ critical infrastructure.

During that time, the BRA’s emergency management team served as liaisons between the BRA facility staff and the Emergency Operations Center in Fort Bend County to provide critical information to local emergency management officials.

BRA had the resources in place to support local and county emergency operations.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will have games this summer throughout Texas, creating a massive logistical challenge. BRA’s Emergency Management team has been attending meetings with TDEM disaster districts, cities, counties, state leaders, to stay informed of potential impacts and support our local emergency management officials. When the crowds arrive, they aren’t just coming for a weekend. They’ll be here three to four months.

“And those people will have free time and want to migrate to our lakes, to our parks. Many people will come from out of the country who don’t understand our laws. What happens if public spaces are overrun? Will water and wastewater treatment plants be able to handle the population boom for months on end? Local emergency management officials will need to identify their greatest risks, highest probability of negative impact, and the needs to protect their assets.”

“Cities will be impacted by hotels filling up, restaurants being packed, grocery stores are going to need to increase their supplies, and the population boom will have a widespread effect. Rental companies are pulling vehicles in from all over to cover what they anticipate. ERCOT and ONCOR are going to be dealing with increased power demands. TxDOT is preparing for large-scale traffic issues. This is going to be a pretty large-scale event that will last an extensive amount of time,” Naylor said. “To prepare BRA, the Emergency Management Team is working with internal departments to identify potential risks and needs to respond effectively. Is it personnel, equipment, technology, etc. so we can start preparing now. There’s a host of things we’re planning for.”

Whether it’s a thousand-year flood or a global sports spectacle, the BRA is already at the table, asking the big questions and preparing for everything.