A Day in the Life of the Brazos River Authority

Possum Kingdom Lake, with its storied and vivid history, is instrumentaltolifethroughouttheBrazosRiverbasin,storing and releasing the water that fuels industry and agriculture asfardownstreamastheTexasGulfCoast

The lake also supplies some of the drinking water that makes life possible for many of the communities along the banks of the Brazos while also providing recreational opportunitiesforthousandsofvisitorseveryyear

Managingallthoseaspectsofthelakeisalocalcrewof45 employees of the Brazos River Authority (BRA), and it’s their hard work and dedication that keep this critical body of waterinoptimumcondition.

Though officially given its title in 1953, the Brazos River AuthorityoriginallywascalledtheBrazosRiverConservation and Reclamation District, which first formed in 1929. This organization was tasked with conserving and controlling floodwatersthroughouttheBrazosRiverBasin.

Before the district’s formation, development of the land within the Brazos River basin was hindered by devastating floods that forced the river out of its banks, with the river sometimessprawlinguptosixmileswide.

In1938thedistrictbrokegroundonMorrisSheppardDam,a massive structure measuring 2,700 feet across and 190 feet high. The dam was built as a Works Progress Administration project and is named after US Sen John Morris Sheppard, a native Texan who played a vital role in securing funding fortheproject

In 1941 the dam was completed, and Possum Kingdom Lake – the district’s first and largest reservoir – began to fill. At the time, experts predicted that the process would take three years, but extensive storms filled the lake in just three months Today, the lake holds 540,000 acre-feet of water andmeasuresupto100feetdeep.

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“Water is a huge commodity in the state of Texas,” said Randall McCartney, reservoir manager for Possum Kingdom Lake

McCartney and his team are responsible for the maintenance and operation of both the dam and its surroundingparkland

As rainfall causes the lake level to rise, it occasionally becomes necessary for the dam to release water downstream, and this is accomplished by lowering nine massive floodgates that are nicknamed “bear traps” becauseoftheirdistinctiveshape

Eachfloodgatehastobeunlockedmanuallybytheworkers that operate the dam. The workers don safety harnesses that are anchored to the dam before walking across the gates to release each lock. Once the gates are unlocked and all other necessary procedures are completed, the gatescanthenfullyopen.

“A select few of our maintenance workers might get called outattwointhemorningandhavetogooutonthedam during a thunderstorm,” McCartney said “I’m extremely proudofouremployeesfromourmaintenancedepartment andtheguyswhoperformthegateoperations I’malsovery proud of our reservoir support maintenance unit workers, who do everything from welding to concrete work to countlessotherduties.ThatpreventstheBRAfromhavingto subcontractoutanyofthemaintenanceforthedam”

Thedecisiontoreleasewaterfromthedamismadebythe

“Thegoalisobviouslynottotopthedam,”McCartneysaid “We also want to impact as few people downstream as possible.”

The staff members who maintain and operate the dam constitutejustonepartoftheupkeepatPossumKingdom Lake Alongitsshorelineisanetworkof10lakesideparks, whichincludefishingpiers,16milesoftrailsforhikingand biking,andsevenboatrampsforlakeaccess

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