THEN: UCRA Board Meeting in Bronte, Texas - Circa 1953
Who is Upper Colorado River Authority (UCRA) and what do you do? These are two of the most asked questions we get asked at UCRA. Not only that, but we are also sometimes mistaken for the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) or the Colorado River Municipal Water District (CRMWD).
First, a little about the other entities that we are sometimes confused with. The CRMWD, which was created in 1949, owns and operates three major reservoirs: J. B. Thomas, E.V. Spence, and O.H. Ivie. They sell wholesale water from these reservoirs, primarily to its member cities of Snyder, Odessa and Big Spring and customer cities of San Angelo and Abilene.
The LCRA (created in 1934) owns, operates, and markets water from the Highland Lakes on the Colorado River, i.e. Lake Buchanan, Inks Lake, Lake LBJ, Lake Marble Falls, Lake Travis, Lake Austin, and Lady Bird Lake. They also own and operate facilities that generate and distribute electricity throughout a large portion of Texas.
We are also a wholesale water supplier, but these two entities are the most prominent in the Colorado River Basin.
UCRA'S HISTORY
The UCRA was created in 1935 - a period in history when the Texas legislature was creating entities to dam rivers for flood prevention and develop water resources for water supply, hydroelectric power, irrigation, and industrial uses. While the enabling legislation that created UCRA was virtually identical to the LCRA’s, we did not grow like the LCRA. While the LCRA was developing numerous dam projects on the Colorado River upstream from Austin, UCRA’s directors were not as active, in part because of our more arid climate. However, we were involved with the construction of O.C Fisher Reservoir in San Angelo and Mountain Creek Reservoir in Robert Lee.
Dam Building
With UCRA sponsorship and financial support, O.C. Fisher Reservoir, originally called San Angelo Lake, was constructed on the North Concho River watershed in 1952. The reservoir was built primarily for flood protection and principally financed through the Flood Prevention Acts of 1941 and 1944. The reservoir filled to conservation capacity in 1957 but steadily declined thereafter and completely dried out in the early 1970s.
Since then, it has experienced brief periods when it catches rainwater from the watershed followed by periods of declining water levels -- to the point that it is nearly a dry lake basin at times. Although not currently a significant water supply source, the dam continues to provide flood prevention benefits.
OC Fisher Reservoir Storage Lifetime Graph
Source Water for Texas https://www.waterdatafortexas.org/reservoirs/individual/o-c-fisher
Wholesale Water Sales
Through its sponsorship and financial support of the O.C. Fisher project, UCRA owns 80,400 acre-feet of adjudicated water rights in the reservoir. UCRA has assigned our water rights in O. C. Fisher to the City of San Angelo (COSA) in perpetuity. And in exchange, UCRA receives water from the City of San Angelo’s water system. This agreement with COSA enables our wholesale marketing of water to various subdivisions and water users located in Tom Green County near San Angelo.
Community Water Infrastructure Support
With no more dams to build, UCRA shifted its focus to assisting communities located in its original statutory area of Tom Green and Coke Counties with water supply infrastructure needs. We provided loans at favorable terms enabling the construction and operation of various water supply needs.
Clean Rivers Program
In 1991, the Texas Legislature passed legislation that established the Texas Clean Rivers Program (CRP). This program created a framework for the coordination of water quality monitoring in virtually all major river basins of Texas. The work is performed to strict quality control protocols by various CRP partners throughout the state. The UCRA has been involved as a partner since the program’s inception and is responsible for conducting routine monitoring at 45 sites in the Upper Colorado River watershed beginning with and upstream of O.H. Ivie Reservoir. This portion of the Colorado River watershed includes the entire Concho River watershed. In a cooperative agreement with the LCRA, we also conduct CRP monitoring at Brady Creek and Brady Creek Reservoir below O.H. Ivie Reservoir. See our CRP webpage for more information: https://www.ucratx.org/clean-rivers-program.
NPS Pollution Prevention
Related to and in conjunction with our CRP monitoring activities we have been heavily involved with nonpoint source (NPS) pollution prevention and remediation (see BLOG from May 20, 2024, “Nonpoint Source Pollution Doesn’t Have to be Complicated”). Each year EPA, through the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TECQ), issues requests for grant applications to address NPS pollution issues. Applications are selected through a state-wide competitive process, and UCRA has received numerous grants since 1994. Through these grants (with matching funds from UCRA & our partners) we have constructed various stormwater pollution prevention structures along the Concho River in San Angelo.
We have also undertaken significant education and outreach (E&O) activities with every NPS project and for several years operated the Water Education Center, that was conceptualized, brought to fruition and operated by UCRA personnel. Through the center, UCRA’s education director conducted our E&O program that worked and partnered with area schools, civic clubs, and various youth groups.
The nationally recognized “Aqua Squad” was originated and developed through the center. The Aqua Squad, a group of San Angelo Independent School District 7th and 8th graders would spend a summer undertaking advanced learning about water issues and subsequently serve as water ambassadors for the City of San Angelo at national water conferences and meetings.
The results of these and other efforts has been the continued improvement of water quality in the Concho River in San Angelo. Historically, the Concho River in response to spring storms would typically “die” along with a consequent major fish kill almost every year in the May/June time frame. This virtually annual occurrence was the direct result of untreated urban stormwater runoff flowing into the river. UCRA’s efforts have essentially stopped the occurrence of major fish kills on the Concho River in San Angelo!
Watershed Protection Planning
UCRA’s water quality improvement efforts have not been restricted to the City of San Angelo. We developed the Brady Creek Watershed Protection Plan (BCWPP), which received EPA acceptance in 2016. Prior to 2016, only five watershed protection plans (WPPs) had been accepted by the EPA in Texas. The UCRA currently serves in the role of Watershed Coordinator and is carrying out the remediation implementation plan developed in the BCWPP. You can find a copy of this document here.
Region F Water Planning, Region 9 Flood Planning, Concho River Watermaster
The UCRA’s activities and projects also have impacts at the regional and state level. We represent the river authority interest group as a voting member of the Region F Regional Water Planning Group that consists of 32 counties located in West Texas. Region F is geographically the largest regional water planning area in the State of Texas and develops a Region F Water Plan that is included in the Texas State Water Plan, which is published at five-year intervals.
Since 2020 when the State Flood Planning legislation became effective, a representative of UCRA has been included as a voting member of the Region 9 Upper Colorado River Flood Planning Group. This group includes all or part of 32 counties located in the Upper Colorado River watershed.
Since its establishment in 2005, a representative of UCRA has been included in the membership of the Concho River Watermaster Advisory Committee. This committee meets annually to oversee the activities of the watermaster and consider/approve the proposed budget.
Brush Control/Water Supply Enhancement
In 1999 the UCRA, with funding from the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board (TSSWCB), researched and prepared the North Concho River Watershed Brush Control Planning, Assessment, and Feasibility Study. Subsequently, the North Concho River Watershed was chosen by the TSSWCB for implementation of the Pilot North Concho River Watershed Brush Control Project (the North Concho Project). UCRA conducted the hydrologic response monitoring and other research projects performed in conjunction with the North Concho Project. These studies and research projects informed subsequent actions and modifications to the TSSWCB’s Water Supply Enhancement Program.
UCRA involvement in other brush control/water supply enhancement projects included chemical control of brush in the Twin Buttes Reservoir lake basin and a Section 1135 grant program, in partnership with the United States Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) and TSSWCB, that used chemical and mechanical methods to control brush infestations in the O.C. Fisher Reservoir lake basin.
Complaint Resolution
As part of its day-to-day operations, UCRA occasionally receives questions or complaints regarding various river/water related issues. We always seek to provide accurate information and resolution to complaints. We keep a log of complaints that are registered with us and our responses to them. If we can’t answer or resolve an issue, we point the individual to the agency or entity that may be able to help them. Check out our Contact page.
UCRA’s Future
UCRA’s original statutory area included Tom Green and Coke counties, but through the years has been expanded to include twelve additional counties that surround Tom Green and Coke counties. UCRA’s planned future endeavors include the broadening of our water quality improvement initiatives into communities throughout our entire fourteen-county area. We also look forward to continuing and expanding our water sales program. Finally, all of our operations and activities are aimed at providing for the public good and will continue to be so in the future. Regarding the Upper Colorado River, we are here to: Protect-Preserve-Enhance.
NOW: UCRA Regular Board Meeting in San Angelo, Texas - 2024, Directors & Staff