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Brazos River Authority to finalize 6,035-acre-foot in-stream water dedication to Texas Parks and Wildlife
Summary
Directors authorized the general manager to finalize and execute agreements dedicating 6,035 acre-feet per year for in-stream uses along the Brazos River, from Possum Kingdom Lake downstream to the Gulf of America, under a contract with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
The Brazos River Authority Board of Directors on Jan. 27 authorized the general manager to finalize and execute interlocal and contractual agreements that dedicate 6,035 acre-feet per year of water to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) for in-stream uses along the main stem of the Brazos River downstream of Possum Kingdom Lake to the Gulf of America.
Destiny Raschhuber, BRA staff counsel, presented the item and reviewed the history: the dedication grew out of a 2011 memorandum of understanding with TPWD developed during the authority's system operations permit process. Parks had been a protestant during the lengthy permit proceedings and the original MOU contemplated donated water and work to develop environmental flow criteria. The donation was reflected in BRA's water management plan technical modeling and remained an item to be incorporated in the plan's first update, due in 2026.
Raschhuber said the parties worked through documentation in 2024 and that statutory constraints meant the donation would be memorialized in a contract and interlocal agreement rather than placed in the Texas Water Trust. Under the proposed agreement, TPWD would be able to request that portions of the dedication be made available to increase flows at specific downstream reaches for in-stream ecological objectives; any use would keep donated water in the stream rather than diverting it for off-stream use.
Directors pressed staff on scope and mechanics. Director Lattimore asked whether the dedicated water was already reserved; BRA staff responded the volume was part of the system operations permit allocations and had been reserved during permit development. Staff emphasized that meeting TPWD requests would be coordinated with BRA operations, that the authority's drought-contingency plan and water accounting would govern releases and that contracted customer obligations would not be impaired.
Directors requested clearer language in the resolution to state the donation was "for use in the stream segment from Possum Kingdom Lake to the Gulf of Mexico." Staff agreed to revise the draft language and returned with a readopted resolution; the board then authorized the general manager to finalize and execute the documents by March 2025.
The resolution passed by roll call. The agreement is a donation; TPWD will not pay BRA for the dedication and may call on portions of the donated flow under the agreed procedures and accounting.
