An institution that has figured prominently in recent history of Palo Pinto County is the Brazos River Authority, which not only makes its home in Mineral Wells but had brought to the county the celebrated Possum Kingdom Reservoir.  The Authority has had an office in Mineral Wells since 1935 and its headquarters here since 1940.

But actually efforts to harness and control the Brazos River were begun long before the lower Brazos Valley were gravely concerned over the frequent overflows of the river.  They held meetings seeking to find a solution to prevent or lessen the flood ravages of the river.  But it was not until the flood of 1912 had destroyed all standing crops and much of the wealth of the area from Waco to the Gulf that the Brazos Valley people, with the cooperation of those in other watersheds, inaugurated a move which in 1917 resulted in the Conservation amendment to the State Constitution.  Now, for the first time, there was a legal means by which people in an area could band to save themselves from the ravages of water  -- or lack of it.

In 1923, a survey was made of the rivers of the state, with emphasis on the erratic Brazos and its tributaries.  This survey sought to determine methods to prevent or alleviate the damage from recurring floods in the lower reaches and to determine the most economical uses to be made of stored flood and storm waters.  As a result of that survey, the Brazos River Conservation and Reclamation District was created by the Legislature in 1929.  (Its name was changed by the Legislature in 1953 to Brazos River Authority.)  This was the first time a sovereign administration of public and private rights to stored flood and storm waters throughout the watershed of a large river.  The law creating the Brazos River Authority has served as a model for Authority legislation in other states and in congress, since it is recognized fact that basin-wide development produces the best results in water conservation.

When it created the Authority, the Legislature did not provide funds for its operation.  So during the early days of the Authority, its activities were financed through small donations by several counties and cities which were harassed by the river's floods, and by endorsement of some of the directors.  During that period the directors paid their own expenses to attend meetings.

In large part, the Brazos River Authority has sought to pay its own way from the start.  Thus the Authority has weighed each project from several views:  Would it conserve water?  Would it help curb floods?  Would it produce income?  In 1933 and in '34, assisted by data provided in the survey of Texas rivers in 1923, the Authority -- in conjunction with the State Board of Water Engineers and with assistance of a nationally known engineering firm -- prepared preliminary plans for improvement of the river and its tributaries.  This became the Brazos River Master Plan.

Possum Kingdom (now Morris Sheppard) Dam and Reservoir, costing approximately $9,000,000, was selected as the first unit of the program because it provided the fair measure of flood control and substantial amount of water conservation, and because its power facilities would yield dependable revenues.  It was paid for by bonds and by a grant of $4,500,000 from the Federal Government.

In 1941, the power from Possum Kingdom was contracted to a Rural Electrification Cooperative for twenty-five years.  Since completion of Possum Kingdom these revenues plus the proceeds of water sales have provided funds for operating the Authority and for its engineering studies, without additional cost to the taxpayers of the State.  Thus the pattern of the Authority's future growth was woven at the start:  Hydro-electric power, a by-product, brings the people economic water for farms and for cities and industry  -- as well as creating new wealth to be added to the tax rolls.

Possum Kingdom Dam and Reservoir has provided substantial flood control protection for Waco and the lower Brazos Valley.  It has contributed to irrigated farming, particularly in Fort Bend and Brazoria Counties, and to industrial development in the lower valley.  Without the assurance of stand-by water supply in Possum Kingdom Reservoir, Dow Chemical Company would not have constructed its huge plant at Freeport.

More recently, the Federal government has built Whitney and Belton Dams.  These units, part of the Brazos River Authority's original development plan, the Federal government built at the urging of the Authority to harness floods; their operation is coordinated with Possum Kingdom's for water-conservation purposes.

As early as 1938, the need for additional water supply in several Texas communities had become acute.  The Authority adopted the policy of cooperating with such communities in the planning and financing of water conservation projects.  In many instances, the Authority supplied legal and engineering services and financial advice.  Notable among those projects are reservoirs at Albany, Anson, Throckmorton, Breckenridge, Eastland and Ranger.  The Authority also provided part of the engineering funds for the Comanche Dam and Reservoir and a reservoir in Callan [sic] County.

The Brazos River Authority also has instigated a survey in the West Texas area of the Brazos watershed, on the Salt Fork of the Brazos, to determine the source of excessive salt and other objectionable chemical intrusion.  The studies -- conducted by Texas A & M Research Foundation -- will be the basis of experiments to hold these chemicals, thus improving the quality of water available downstream.

The Brazos River Authority's total development program includes twenty-one projects besides those dams already built.  (One of these is the raising of Possum Kingdom.)  Of these projects, the most dramatic are on the main stream where terrain is most suitable  -- at Turkey Creek, Inspiration Point, Hightower, DeCordova Bend, Bee Mountain.  These dam projects and the Possum Kingdom improvement are known as the Six-Dam Program.

The Six-Dam Program will take up the thirty-months to complete.  It will create a chain of lakes 250 miles long, stretching from Whitney Dam (near Waco) through the heart of Texas to Possum Kingdom Dam (between Mineral Wells and Graham).  Each lake will back up the dam immediately upstream from it.

The Brazos River drops almost 600 feet from Possum Kingdom to Whitney.  Water falling from one lake to the next lower one will generate power for sale at the time of peak demand -- the work-day hours, when power values is high.  Hydro-electric power, because it can be turned on and off readily, is ideal for "peaking".

Water dropping through a powerhouse to generate electricity is not used up: except for what is lost by evaporation, it remains there to be used again.  The Brazos River plan therefore provides a system whereby water released for power generation during time of peak demand will be pumped back to the higher reservoirs during the off-peak periods -- night time and week-ends.

The very same equipment that generates power at one time will be used to pump water back at other times.  Engineers call this equipment reversible turbo-generators.  When water is being pumped back the generators are reversed to become motors, and the turbines act as pumps.  Power for the pump-back will be bought at the low prices, during the periods of small demand, from the same utility companies that buy the Authority's power to meet their peak needs.

Pump-back is a tested technique among water engineers.  Four pump-back water systems are already in use in the United States and Brazil.  Two others are being installed on this continent.  Pump-back is the engineers' means of making a given amount of water do more work -- without depriving downstream users of their supply.  You can have your water and use it, too.

Possum Kingdom Lake is a good fishing ground and at all times of the year, the many camps around the lake are filled with visitors from every state in the union.  Some extra large fish are caught at times and usually fishing of some kind is good.  Scenic spots abound around the lake.