LBRC
At 840 miles, the Brazos River is the longest river in Texas.
It serves as the lifeblood for communities from the Llano Estacado (Texas Panhandle) to south of Dallas-Fort Worth, through Waco, and on to the Gulf of Mexico.
The population in the river basin continues to grow at a rapid pace while droughts and floods are more frequent and intense. Consequently, competition for river water has intensified.
The Lower Brazos River Coalition supports three main ways of addressing this growing competition:
- Manage our existing water resources judiciously
- Develop new water resources where needed
- Make drought contingency plans more effective
Groups in the upper and middle portions of the basin have shown no interest in increasing downstream flows through any mechanism.
In addition, the Coalition stands ready to work with the appropriate entities on necessary development and management of existing and new water resources.
Water supplies that are currently available from the river on a long-term, year-to-year basis – even during drought – are fully allocated. Cities, farmers, ranchers, and industries along the river banks already have spoken for this “firm water.”
As a result, it is more important than ever that water rights, permits and regulations are adhered to and compliance is monitored, for example, by the Brazos Watermaster Program.