The San Antonio River Authority or SARA was formed in 1937 by the Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 legislature. Its main concerns are water

Water

Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...

 supply and water conservation

Conservation ethic

Conservation is an ethic of resource use, allocation, and protection. Its primary focus is upon maintaining the health of the natural world: its, fisheries, habitats, and biological diversity. Secondary focus is on materials conservation and energy conservation, which are seen as important to...

 in the San Antonio River

San Antonio River

The San Antonio River is a major waterway that originates in central Texas in a cluster of springs in north central San Antonio, approximately four miles north of downtown, and follows a roughly southeastern path through the state. It eventually feeds into the Guadalupe River about ten miles from...

 basin

Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

 in Bexar

Bexar County, Texas

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,392,931 people, 488,942 households, and 345,681 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,117 people per square mile . There were 521,359 housing units at an average density of 418 per square mile...

, Goliad, Karnes

Karnes County, Texas

Karnes County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2000, the population was 15,446. Its county seat is Karnes City. Karnes County is named for Henry Karnes, a soldier in the Texas Revolution.-Geography:...

, and Wilson

Wilson County, Texas

Wilson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 32,408. Its county seat is Floresville. The county is named after James Charles Wilson....

 counties. The general offices of the authority are located at 100 East Guenther Street, San Antonio

San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...

, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, 78204.

Dams and reservoirs

SARA operates 13 dams in Karnes County

Karnes County, Texas

Karnes County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2000, the population was 15,446. Its county seat is Karnes City. Karnes County is named for Henry Karnes, a soldier in the Texas Revolution.-Geography:...

 and all 26 dams in Bexar County

Bexar County, Texas

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,392,931 people, 488,942 households, and 345,681 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,117 people per square mile . There were 521,359 housing units at an average density of 418 per square mile...

. Major reservoirs in the San Antonio River watershed

Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

 include:

• Victor Braunig Lake
  Victor Braunig Lake
  Victor Braunig Lake, formerly known as East Lake, is a reservoir on Calaveras Creek and Chupaderas Creek 17 miles south of downtown San Antonio, Texas, USA. The reservoir was formed in 1962 by the construction of a dam to provide a cooling pond for a power plant to supply additional electrical...
  
  
• Calaveras Lake
  Calaveras Lake (Texas)
  Calaveras Lake is a reservoir on Calaveras Creek, located 20 miles southeast of downtown San Antonio, Texas, USA. The reservoir was formed in 1969 by the construction of a dam to provide a cooling pond for a complex of power plants, to supply additional electricity to the city of San Antonio...
  
  

External links

• The University of Texas at San Antonio houses a collection of records consisting of reports, project materials, correspondence, maps, surveys, minutes and photographs. Also included are newspaper clippings, publications including SARA newsletters, magazines, and brochures. Historical research materials in the collection include photographs and documentation of the flood of 1921 as well as photographs of activity of the San Antonio River during the early part of the twentieth century.