No water is completely pure.  Contaminates, both naturally occurring and manmade, occur at differing levels depending on your location throughout the world. 

In the United States, federal and state regulations set standards for the maximum amount of contaminants allowed for water to be considered safe for drinking.  Regulated contaminants include a variety of microbes and substances that at certain levels could cause adverse health effects.

Though most treated drinking water is safe for consumption, some contaminants can be introduced into the water after it is treated. One example is water that comes in contact with lead that can leach into water from the pipe systems in older homes.

Other contaminants that are not regulated as potentially harmful, may yet affect water’s aesthetic quality. Higher levels of minerals in hard water may give water a metallic or unpleasant taste as well as odor and cloudy appearance. Substances such as geosmin, produced by algae, can give water an unpleasant taste and odor.

While some regulated contaminants are considered safe for the average person at levels allowed under government regulations, they could pose a hazard for those with weakened immune systems. People with immune systems compromised through illness, chemotherapy or transplant medications should take a closer look at the treatment of the water they drink, whether from their tap or a bottle.

A potentially hazardous contaminant is cryptosporidium, a microscopic parasite that lives in intestines of warm blooded animals including humans and is passed with waste.  In healthy people, the parasite can cause illness with symptoms including diarrhea, vomiting, fever and dehydration among others. Cryptosporidium can prove deadly for those with weakened immunity. The parasite is very resistant to chlorine-based disinfectants and boiling is considered the most effective way of killing it.

An emerging category of pollutants includes pharmaceuticals and personal care products. Though scientists have found no evidence of adverse effects on human health, some studies suggest these substances can harm the environment.  Research continues on the issue.

Runoff is that part of precipitation, snow melt or irrigation water that does not sink into the ground but moves from the land into streams or other surface water. It can carry pollutants from the land or air to its destination waters.

Water drawn from rivers, lakes stream and other bodies of water as well as groundwater can be contaminated and could make you sick if you drink it without treating it first. Waterborne diseases, caused by microorganisms that live in untreated water, can cause diarrhea, nausea vomiting and other symptoms, and in extreme cases, death.

Many of these pathogens infect water through contact with human and animal feces, carried there by runoff or seeping into the water supply from leaking sewage or septic systems. 

Water can also be contaminated by any pollutant improperly handled by man, such as dumped chemicals, or fertilizers and other chemicals used in agriculture that wash into lakes and streams.

Some contaminants, including microbes and chemical elements, can occur naturally in the ground surrounding the water. Though soil and rock can filter water as it percolates down into groundwater supply, such water can also become contaminated by natural and manmade pollutants and pathogens. For more information on waterborne diseases and contaminants, click here.

The Texas Legislature created the Clean Rivers Program in 1991 when it passed the Texas Clean Rivers Act. Legislators’ goal was to push Texas towards comprehensive water planning and management to ensure the future quality of the water supply.

The state designated the Brazos River Authority as the lead agency to conduct water quality assessment and Clean Rivers Program (CRP) planning in the Brazos River watershed. Every one to three months, the Authority tests water for everything from temperature and salinity to dissolved solids and chemical contaminants at 150 to 200 sites.

If that data indicates there is a problem, officials could respond with a Watershed Protection Plan. A WPP is a means for the community to come together to discuss and plan ways to resolve water quality issues.

More severe issues might call for a government mandated Total Maximum Daily Load Program which limits the discharge of certain contaminants. An example of the program’s success can be found at Lake Aquilla, where officials worked with farmers to reduce levels of herbicide in the water. 

More information on the Clean Rivers Program may be found by clicking here

An outhouse, commonly referred to as a privy in the Texas Statutes, is a type of toilet without plumbing in a small building separated from a main structure. Instead of being connected to a sewer or septic system, an outhouse sits over a pit.

In an outhouse however, bacteria that thrive in oxygen break down the waste, with help from other natural processes. Eventually the pit fills, is covered with dirt and the outhouse is relocated.

Under Texas law, an outhouse may not be built within 75 feet of a drinking water well or a human habitation other than the residence to which the privy belongs, without approval from local health authorities. An outhouse also may not be built over an abandoned well or a stream. For more regulations on outhouses, consult the Texas Statutes. Pertinent information can be found here

Fecal coliform bacteria is one of a collection of relatively harmless bacteria that live in the intestines of all warm blooded animals including humans.  These bacteria normally aid in the digestion of food then pass through the intestines as part of fecal waste. 

When aquatic systems are contiminated by human or animal feces, the fecal coliform bacteria (the most common form being Escherichia coli or E coli) can cause a number of waterborne diseases including typhoid fever, viral and bacterial gastroenteritis and hepatitis A.  

Dissolved oxygen or DO is the amount of oxygen in surface water that is available for aquatic life.  Aquatic plants and algae contribute to the presence of dissolved oxygen.

The headwater is the upper reaches of a stream or reservoir. It can also include the the merging of streams that come together to form a river.

 A spring is a place where groundwater flows naturally from the Earth’s surface.

A confined aquifer has layers of impermeable material situated above and below that create pressure within the trapped water. When a well permeates such an aquifer, this pressure causes the water to rise above the top of the aquifer. When an aquifer is unconfined, it rises and falls with atmospheric pressure.

photo courtesy of USGS

Alluvium is sand, clay, gravel, silt or other material deposited by a stream in a streambed, on a flood plain, delta, or base of a mountain.

There are 14 sub-watersheds within the basin, including the Caprock, Salt and Double Mountain Forks, Clear Fork,  and the Upper, Central and Lower watersheds. The Bosque, Leon, Lampasas, Navasota and Little rivers as well as Aquilla, Yegua and Upper Oyster creeks also have sub watersheds in the basin.  For a full size map, click here. 

Major aquifers that lie within the basin or that are crossed by it include the Edwards BFZ, Seymour, Edwards-Trinity Plateau, Trinity, Ogallala, Carrizo-Wilcox and Gulf Coast.  For a full sized map, click here. 

The Brazos River draw lies approximately 50 miles west of the Texas-New Mexico border beginning a watershed that stretches 1,050 miles and comprises 44,620 square miles, 42,000 of which are in Texas.  For a full-sized map, click here

A watershed protection plan is a coordinated effort among stakeholders of a watershed to determine and implement a plan to ease an environmental issue. The stakeholders often include residents of the impacted community, representatives of governmental and other agencies and local businesses, among others.

The stakeholders work with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to develop a plan and formulate programs to manage the issue.

E. coli is a bacteria normally found in the intestines of humans and other warm blooded animals. It can pollute water bodies and other areas through contact with waste. Researchers have found contact with the bacteria can cause gastrointestinal illnesses.

Giardiasis is an infection of the small intestine by single-celled parasites called giardia. People are typically infected by the parasite through exposure to fecal mater through contaminated water or food. Symptoms, which usually begin about a week after infection, include diarrhea, nausea and abdominal cramps.

Though there are no preventative vaccines, several drugs can be used to treat infections. However, there are ways to avoid becoming infected. First, people should avoid consuming water that may have become contaminated. If one does not know whether water is safe, it should be boiled or treated before consumption. Likewise, avoid foods potentially washed in contaminated water if the food cannot be cooked or peeled. Wash hands frequently with soap, especially after using the bathroom or before eating. Also wash hands after changing diapers. Avoid swallowing water while swimming.

An algal bloom is a sudden, massive growth of microscopic and macroscopic organism that develop in lakes and reservoirs.

A measure of water’s alkalinity or acidity is called pH. Water with a pH of 7 is neutral; lower pH levels indicate increasing acidity and higher pH levels indicate increasingly basic solutions.

A river basin is the area drained by a river and its tributaries. A river basin is synonymous with the term “watershed.”  For example, the Brazos River basin refers to the same area as the Brazos River watershed. 

photo courtesy Texas Parks and Wildlife

The term riparian area refers to the bank of a river.  Riparian areas have one or both of the following characteristics: 1) distinctively different vegetative species than adjacent areas, and 2) species similar to adjacent areas but exhibiting more vigorous or robust growth forms. Riparian areas are usually transitional between wetland and upland.

To prevent infection by primary amebic meningeoncephalitis (PAM), it is recommended that those taking part in warm, fresh water-related activities use nose clips or hold their noses shut while jumping into water. With the ameba often found in soil, it is best to avoid stirring up underwater sediment.

The Texas Department of Health recommends that people avoid stagnant or polluted water and take “No Swimming” signs seriously. PAM cannot be spread person to person nor by drinking water. Swimming pools and hot tubs that are properly cleaned, maintain and chlorinated are generally safe, as is salt water.

Primary Amebic Meningeoncephalitis or PAM is a rare, almost always fatal disease caused by an ameba (naegleria fowleri) found in all untreated, fresh surface water and in soil. Most common during the summer, the ameba thrives in low levels of fresh water that is stagnant or slow-moving and is warmer than 80 degrees.

The infection occurs when water containing the organism is forced into the nasal passages – usually from diving or jumping into water or from water skiing. The ameba makes its way into the brain and spinal cord, destroying brain tissue. Although PAM is rare – affecting about one to three people a year in Texas – those infected usually succumb to the disease within a week.

Yes, golden algae is present in parts of the basin year round. However, the great majority of the time it is at such a level that it has not caused a threat to fish in a few years. Fish kills occur when algae blooms and becomes toxic. This happened most recently in 2007, when the basin experienced a widespread fish kill.

A river's bank is the sloping ground that borders the watercourse and confines the water in the natural channel when the water level, or flow, is normal.

A wildlife management exemption to Texas water rights allows property owners to build and maintain a dam or reservoir of not more than 200 acre-feet of water on qualified open-space land for the purpose of providing water to indigenous wildlife. 

Mitigation is action designed to reduce, eliminate or correct negative impacts on the environment.

Non-point source pollution are harmful substances that occur as a result of human activities over a wide area rather than from one specific location. These include forms of diffuse pollution caused by sediment, nutrients, organic and toxic substances that wash off city streets, plowed fields or other developed areas. The pollution is carried to lakes and streams by runoff.  Examples of non-point source pollution are oil and gas that leak from cars and trucks onto the pavement or over applicaton of fertilizer on lawns or agricultural fields. 

There are a number of factors that may affect water clarity.  The chief factor in the clarity of lakes and rivers in Texas is sediment. The more sediment in a stream or body of water, the cloudier it appears. This factor can vary depending on geography and climate. Some areas naturally have more sediment drawn from the surrounding land, particularly agricultural areas, where soil is often broken up and exposed. Water tends to be cloudier during rainier seasons when runoff carries topsoil and other matter into lakes and streams.

Invasive plants are non-native, typically exotic plants that thrive when introduced into areas where they have no predators or disease control. They quickly reproduce and grow unchecked, crowding out native species that use the same habitat. Some examples of invasive plants in Texas include the Chinaberry tree, running bamboo and kudzu vine.  

Invasive water plants have a direct impact on Texas lakes.  Plants such as giant salvinia, a floating plant native to Brazil, is especially harmful as it grows quickly and can blanket entire lakes. This growth affects Texas fish by replacing native plants that serve as food and blocking sunlight resulting in a decrease of oxygen concentration in water.  Other invasive water plants in Texas include hydrilla, water hyacinth, alligatorweed and water lettuce. 

Golden algae is a naturally occurring microscopic algae that typically occurs in brackish water. Blooms of this algae can produce toxins that are lethal to fish and bivalves (mussels and clams). There is no evidence the toxins produced by golden algae are harmful to humans, livestock or wildlife.  It characteristically appears as brownish or tea-colored water.

Algae are photosynthetic organisms that may be found in water.  There are many types of alga and any number of the different types may exist in one waterbody at the same time. 

Greywater is wastewater from household or small commercial establishments that includes water from clothes washing machines, showers and bathtubs, and sinks used for hand washing.  Greywater does not include water from the kitchen sink used in the cleaning of food and from toilets, dishwashers, or water used for washing diapers.

In some areas, greywater may be released into the environment without going through a treatment process. Texas laws prohibit the release of greywater into or near lakes streams and other bodies of water.

While water treatment plants can remove some chemicals, at this time, wastewater systems are not designed to remove pharmaceuticals.  At this point, the best way to reduce the amount of chemicals in our water is at their source.

Pharmaceuticals enter the water cycle through a variety of sources including drugs that pass through the human body or domestic animals that are not completely absorbed and byproducts of the pharmaceutical manufacturing process.

Additionally, improper disposal of old or unneeded drugs at homes or medical facilities are another factor that is probably the easiest to change. Federal officials encourage people with unwanted or leftover drugs to not flush them or throw them away, but instead take advantage of local drug take back or hazardous waste collection programs. For more information on this issue, go here.

The mineral content determines whether your elements water is either “hard” or “soft.”  The higher the mineral content, the harder the water. Minerals affecting water hardness can include calcium and magnesium bicarbonate or calcium sulfate, calcium chloride, magnesium sulfate and magnesium chloride.

The harder the water, the more soap is needed to make foam or lather. Hard water also produces scale in hot water pipes, heaters, boilers and other places where the water is kept at higher temperatures.

Soft water is considered to have no more than 60 milligrams of minerals per liter (mg/l). Moderately hard has 61 to 120 mg/l; hard has 121 to 180mg/l and very hard has more than 180 mg/l.

Mineral water is naturally occurring or prepared water that contains dissolved minerals, elements or gasses, often used therapeutically. Several Brazos River basin towns built industries around local mineral water and its purported healing powers towards the end of the nineteenth century. Those cities included Mineral Wells, Marlin, Waco and others.

A tributary is a small river or stream that merges or flows into a larger river or stream. A river is typically has several tributaries.

Numerous tributaries feed into the Brazos River including the Clear, Salt and Double Mountain forks of the Brazos as well as the Navasota, Bosque, Nolan, and Little rivers and Yegua Creek. In addition, those tributaries each have several sub-tributaries, including numerous creeks as well as the Leon and San Gabriel Rivers, among others.

An oxbow is a severe bend in a river channel creating a “U” shape and leaving a very narrow strip of land between the two bends.  Many times, erosion will wear through this narrow strip and the course of the river changes leaving a “U” shaped or oxbow lake or a dry riverbed. 

Erosion is the process in which soil is moved or carried away by water, air or other natural processes.

An off-channel reservoir is a water supply lake built next to or near a river.  Off-channel reservoirs are considered by some to be environmentally friendly, lessening the impact on fish and other wildlife by avoiding the need to place a large dam directly on the main stem of the river.

An example of an off-channel reservoir is the Brazos River Authority’s planned and permitted Allens Creek Reservoir, near Houston. For more information about Allens Creek, click here.

A channel is a watercourse or path taken by a river, creek or brook. It may be natural or man-made and includes a definite bed and banks that directs the flow of water.

Stream is a general term for a flowing body of water, usually in a natural channel, and can be either a creek or a river. A river is typically a natural stream of considerable volume while a creek is a smaller stream which serves as a natural drainage course in a basin. These terms are based largely on location and size of the waterway. A creek in temperate or wet climates might be called a river in more arid regions.

Wetlands are areas where water covers the soil or is present at or near the soil’s surface for most or all of the year. Wetlands provide a habitat for a variety of plants and animals and can serve as a natural water filter. 

Man-made wetlands have been developed to treat water coming from an outside source, such as a river, before it enters a water treatment program.

An estuary is a place where fresh and salt water mix, for example, a bay, salt marsh or where a river enters the ocean or Gulf of Mexico.

The Brazos River does not have a natural estuary as it flows into the Gulf of Mexico.  In 1929 the US Army Corps of Engineers diverted the Brazos River into the Intracostal Waterway thereby bypassing the river’s natural estuary. 

A watershed is the land area or topographic region that drains into a particular stream, river or lake. This land feature can be identified by tracing a line on a map along the highest elevations between two areas.

Large watersheds may contain hundreds or thousands of smaller subwatersheds that drain into the river or other water body. The Brazos River watershed encompasses more than 42,000 square miles and includes many smaller streams and rivers with their own smaller watersheds. 

For a map of sub-watersheds in the Brazos River basin, click here. 

Percolation is the movement of water through soil and its layers by force of gravity. 

Total dissolved solids or TDS is the amount of minerals that remain when a water sample is completely evaporated, such as the water spots on your glasswear.  TDS is a measurement of all organic and sometimes inorganic solids in water and is reported as milligrams per liter (mg/l).  TDS includes elements and organic compounds such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, bicarbonates, chlorides, and sulfates.  TDS is used as a general indicator of water quality.
 

An aquifer is an underground geological formation that stores and transmits water in amounts that can be extracted by a water well in useful quantities. For a full size map, click here.     

Wetlands provide a habitat for a variety of plants and animals that would fare poorly in other environments. They also provide water storage, funtioning like a sponge, storing water and slowly releasing it. This helps ease water’s potential for floooding and erosion. The slow release also contributes to surface water flow during dry periods.

Wetlands also can act as a natural water filtration system. As the water enters the wetland, its movement slows around plants, which allows suspended sediments to drop to the wetland floor. Nutirents and pollutants get absorbed by plants and mircoorganisms. An example of this process is the Lake Waco Wetlands area, where many nutrients carried into the lake from the Bosque River are trapped in the wetland, instead of entering the lake proper, the nearby city’s chief source of water.

Salinity or chloride concentration, refers to the amount of salt dissolved or contained in water. The higher the salinity, the less useful the water is for human consumption, agriculture and other uses

The Brazos River particularly in the upper part of the watershed, contains a high amount of salinity due to a naturally occurring underground salt deposits located northwest of Abilene.  As a result, surface water in some areas of the Brazos River must be treated to remove the amount of salt before it may be available for human consumption.

The Brazos River Authority operates an inland desalination water treatment plant (Surface Water and Treatment System) located on Lake Granbury to provide water to the Hood and Johnson County areas.