Photo by Steven Upperman

According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Texas River Guide, there are 15 major rivers and 3,700 named streams that cross 191,000 miles of Texas land.

Rivers and streams carry water and nutrients to the Texas landscape as they flow to the ocean. Rivers provide important habitat to wildlife and fish both in the stream channel and along the banks. Vegetated meandering river systems prevent erosion and mitigate flooding by slowing the flow of water downstream, and are a source of beauty as well.

Rivers in Texas have been used for transportation, irrigation, and power generation for hundreds of years, and also serve an important role in recreation and tourism in our state.

Perennial streams are those where water is present all year round. The main source of water for these streams is groundwater and the water table is located above the stream bed for most of the year. Surface water runoff contributes to the stream flow as well.

Periodic overbank flooding of rivers replenishes the water supply in many wetland systems. Other wetlands develop along the bank of the river as a vegetated fringe. Tidal marsh systems sometimes depend on both the influx of freshwater from rivers into the Gulf as well as the ebb and flow of the tide. The amount of freshwater in the tidal marsh system helps determine the plant community in the marsh.

The US Army Corps of Engineers regulates all impacts in tidally influenced streams, and any impacts in non-tidally influenced streams which occur below the stream’s ordinary high water mark (OHWM). If you suspect you have these types of waters on your property, you need to contact USACE before performing any activity that would impact these waters.

If the area is determined as waters of the US, a USACE permit may be required. For more questions on how to contact USACE and the jurisdictional determination process click here.