From the Brazos to your bathroom, every drop has quite a Texas-sized story to tell

By John Toth

The Bulletin

I admit it: I often take water for granted. I turn on the bathroom sink’s warm-water tap and run it at full blast until the water warms up. Then I wash my face and do all the morning rituals.

Yes, I brush my teeth while the water is running. I am that bad. It’s not my fault; I don’t like cold water.

I have never given much thought to how that water made it into the pipes. Most of us don’t. But it was quite a journey, and a small army of people is responsible for the luxury we all enjoy – running water without having to worry whether it could someday run dry.

In Angleton, where I live, for example, the water comes from a mix of groundwater and surface water. Groundwater is pumped from local city wells, drawing from the Chicot Aquifer, while surface water is purchased from the Brazosport Water Authority (BWA), which treats water originating from the Brazos River. We receive over 95% of our drinking water from the BWA.

That’s how important the Brazos River is, and why it is so crucial to make sure there is ample water left in it to make it down here. We’re at the end of the line. The river forms at the confluence of the Salt Fork and Double Mountain Fork in Stonewall County.

Its total length is about 840 miles to the Gulf, making it the longest river flowing entirely within the state of Texas.

Early Spanish explorers named it Río de los Brazos de Dios (The River of the Arms of God. Legend says the naming is because its water saved a dying expedition from thirst.

San Felipe de Austin served as the colonial capital, and Washington-on-the-Brazos was where Texas declared independence from Mexico in 1836. The fertile Brazos Valley supported massive cotton plantations worked by enslaved labor before the Civil War.

Things have changed since then. Now, upstream pressure on the river can affect what happens downstream where we are – way down at the end.

South Brazoria County’s heavy petrochemical manufacturing, energy production and commercial agriculture, depend heavily on surface water pumped from the lower Brazos River via local canal systems and off-channel storage reservoirs, like the Brazoria and Harris reservoirs.

The Dow Chemical Company in Freeport – the largest integrated chemical manufacturing complex in the Western Hemisphere – relies on massive volumes of Brazos River water for cooling, processing and operations.

Then there are the farmers, ranchers, and people like me who brush their teeth while running the water.

There has to be enough for everyone, or we may wind up like Corpus Christi during an extended drought.

Corpus Christi was facing a severe-water shortage until recent rains ended a multi-year drought. The crisis was caused by major municipal infrastructure delays and massive water consumption by heavy petrochemical industries and oil refineries, which account for over 60% of the region’s daily usage.

Five straight years of extreme heat and minimal rainfall drained major local reservoirs – like Lake Corpus Christi and Choke Canyon Reservoir – to historic lows under 10% of combined capacity.

Corpus Christi-area monitored water-supply reservoirs are now about 50.8% full, with Lake Corpus Christi specifically sitting at roughly 91.4% capacity following recent heavy summer floodwaters and inflows.

This influx significantly pushed back emergency timelines, and a Level 1 water emergency is not projected until around September, 2028.

That’s not a solution we want down here – kicking the can down the road. That’s where the Lower Brazos River Coalition (LBRC) comes in.

The LBRC is a grassroots partnership of concerned individuals, organizations, municipalities, ranchers, farmers, environmentalists, conservationists, businesses and industries seeking fair and effective Brazos River water-supply management.

It is a task force of The Economic Development Alliance for Brazoria County and advocates for fair and just management of the Brazos River during drought and flood.

“Every drop of water that we draw from that river passes through another county,” said Brazoria County Commissioner Matt Sebesta, the outgoing chairman of the LBRC Executive Committee.

Sebesta made his comments during the LBRC fall luncheon at the Central Brazoria County Business Park in Angleton, organized by The Alliance.

“This organization will move forward … to make sure that we protect that water, which is the lifeblood of our industry, our agriculture and our municipalities,” added Sebesta.

It takes a lot of planning and organizing to accomplish this. Volunteers are welcome to join the effort. If you’re in a position to join the LBRC and donate your time, visit keepbrazosflowing.org and find out how to take part in decades of Brazos River water management.

Do you have an opinion about water issues in the state or our area? Drop me a note at john.bulletin@gmail.com. We’ll share your thoughts with our readers.