When you need to know: BrazosBasinNOW
Ah, Spring! If you enjoy water recreation, this is a great time of year in Texas. Getting back out onto the water
after the long winter months can be either very exciting or a little disappointing depending on Texas’ fickle weather.
On the other hand, if you live on or near a Texas river or reservoir, the threat of heavy spring rains and the
potential for flooding can be frightening.
The Brazos River Authority’s web app BrazosBasinNOW is a new information web page that provides the current
information you need for both recreational fun and potential flood conditions in one place, with fewer clicks
and page drilldowns.
“The Brazos River Authority has posted streamflow information on its website for nearly 20 years,” said B.R.A.
Public Information Officer Judi Pierce. “In the past, the data for the site was issued by several organizations
and made accessible on the B.R.A. website. The only drawback was that the information was provided by three
different organizations and could be confusing. Until now.”
BrazosBasinNOW
This month, the B.R.A. introduced BrazosBasinNOW, a comprehensive information site that provides all the
information needed for a leisurely float down the river or a gully-washing downpour, all in one place
and with fewer clicks and pages.
BrazosBasinNOW replaces the river and reservoir levels page on the B.R.A.’s website, www.brazos.org,
combining the familiar information with a newer, easy-to-read map format.
BrazosBasinNOW features streamflow, reservoir and rainfall maps that provide data in the gage-system
format most people have become familiar with on brazos.org. The new map format provides pan and zoom
capability along with additional information such as recent rainfall and detailed gage readings.
Streamflow
The streamflow section of BrazosBasinNOW provides each gage location in the new map format along with
the streamflow value at a glance. During heavy rain events, BrazosBasinNOW also provides NOAA’s Hydrologic
Prediction Service graphics with the latest forecast from the West Gulf River Forecast Center showing
potential flooding and crest prediction for certain gage locations.
Reservoirs
BrazosBasinNOW also provides detailed information on each of the 11 reservoirs within the B.R.A. water
supply system, including data for federal reservoirs that has not been readily available through the B.R.A.
website in the past. Each gage provides the reservoir's elevation level at a glance. By clicking on the
individual gage, sensor data also provides the reservoir’s drawdown and storage capacity.
Another new reservoir feature is the addition of additional measurement gages at each of the B.R.A.-owned
reservoirs. During heavy rain and high-flow events, the additional gages allow those living on the
reservoir to view the change in reservoir elevation as water flows through the reservoir.
Rainfall
“The most exciting addition to BrazosBasinNOW is the addition of rainfall information,” said Pierce. Once
again using the familiar gage format, the rainfall section of BrazosBasinNOW provides gage dots that visually
indicate the amount of rainfall in the area. Additional rainfall information is available by clicking on
each gage then selecting the drop-down menu for that site. The site also provides rainfall gage readings
from locations across the basin, as well as rainfall estimates in the watersheds around the three water
supply reservoirs owned and operated by B.R.A, lakes Possum Kingdom, Granbury and Limestone.
BrazosBasinNOW is available through the B.R.A. website or by going to BrazosBasinNOW.org.
Go
here for more information on the site. For questions, call 888-922-6272.