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• A specified volume of water that the holder may take or use within each year and
a diversion rate if water diversion occurs. Access to this volume of water is subject to varying degrees of reliability depending upon the availability of water and
the priority date of the holder.
• An ability to impound water (e.g., to store it in a reservoir above a dam), to divert
water (e.g., to pump it from the stream), or both.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is the state agency
that issues surface water rights. In case of drought, senior water rights holders can
ask the TCEQ to “call” younger water rights, effectively cutting off junior rights
holders from withdrawing water and thereby giving prioritized access to senior
rights holders. The next two sections contrast responses to this issue from two
adjacent river basins in Texas—the Colorado and the Brazos.
Fig. 13.3 Like most of Texas during a severe drought in 2011, the water availability within the
adjacent Brazos and Colorado River basins of Texas were severely impacted, but existing management produced different levels of cooperation within the basins (Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality 2018a)
13 Metrics
• A specified volume of water that the holder may take or use within each year and
a diversion rate if water diversion occurs. Access to this volume of water is subject to varying degrees of reliability depending upon the availability of water and
the priority date of the holder.
• An ability to impound water (e.g., to store it in a reservoir above a dam), to divert
water (e.g., to pump it from the stream), or both.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is the state agency
that issues surface water rights. In case of drought, senior water rights holders can
ask the TCEQ to “call” younger water rights, effectively cutting off junior rights
holders from withdrawing water and thereby giving prioritized access to senior
rights holders. The next two sections contrast responses to this issue from two
adjacent river basins in Texas—the Colorado and the Brazos.
Fig. 13.3 Like most of Texas during a severe drought in 2011, the water availability within the
adjacent Brazos and Colorado River basins of Texas were severely impacted, but existing management produced different levels of cooperation within the basins (Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality 2018a)
13 Metrics