Texas Watersheds (TX Aquatic Science)

Identify and examine Texas watersheds and determine our needs based on our own local watershed

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Today, we will...

By definition, a watershed is all the land from which water drains into a specific body of water. It encompasses a large area where all the water runs into a main water system, such as a river

​What is a watershed?

For us, our watershed is the Brazos River Basin/San Jacinto-Brazos Coastal Basin

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Find your watershed and explore the watersheds in Texas--->

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​Texas Watersheds Map

• Our main watershed derives from the Brazos River

• Examine the origin and endpoint of the Brazos River Basin in Texas

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​Brazos River Basin

Even though the San Jacinto River Basin is north of us, it still affects our watershed and runs into our county

San Jacinto River Basin

• All water runoff flows into streams, creeks, bayous, and eventually rivers.

• Texas has 15 major river basins. Most states only have 1 or 2. We also have....

• 7 major bay systems

• 3,700 streams

• All flow into the Gulf of Mexico

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Water Flow

• Longest river in Texas (840 miles)

• Part of a 45,000sq mile drainage basin

• Dammed in 3 places (Possum Kingdom, Granbury, Whitney)

• Source: Llano Estacado (Stonewall Co)

• Mouth: Freeport

• Supplies power, recreation, and irrigation

The Mighty, Mighty Brazos!

• Lots of history (settlements, Washington-on-the-Brazos "birthplace of Texas")

• 120,000 acre-feet/yr of groundwater available

• 31% used for crops

• 61% grasslands

• 4.6% urban use (will increase)

• Water quality issues: high nutrient loads due to fertilizer/livestock/chemical runoffs, high bacterial levels and low oxygen levels in some places

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​More on the Brazos

• Headwaters: the area of the watershed where precipitation collects or is originated from (like a spring)

• Perennial Stream: A permanent flowing stream that always has water in it

• Dry Streambed: A stream that is only active during certain parts of the year or season

• Intermittent/Ephemeral Stream: streams that flow below ground; can be dry above

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Terms to Know