Flood Stages and Discharges For Small Streams in Texas: Compilation of Data through September 1971

Research Study No. 4-5-65-85, "Hydrologic Investigation of Small Drainage Areas in Texas," is a cooperative program between the Texas Highway Department and the U.S. Geological Survey. This program, which began in September 1964, is financed by funds made available for research by the Texas Highway Department and the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. This report is the seventh in a series of interim reports that describe the objectives, planning, instrumentation, progress, and status of the project. The report includes data collected during the 1971 water year. The objective of the program is to obtain basic hydrologic data that may be used to define the magnitude and frequency of floods for drainage areas of less than 20 square miles. When sufficient data have been obtained, a magnitude and frequency analysis of floods for streams of less than 20 square miles will be prepared. These data will supplement those used by Patterson (1963). To accomplish the objective, a network of 150 crest-stage partial-record gages was established. These gages are distributed throughout the State to sample all hydrologic areas and flood-frequency regions as defined by Patterson (1963) and to obtain a representative sample of physical characteristics. Information for unusual peak discharges at ungaged sites is obtained as the opportunity arises. The planning of this program is directed toward providing a useful regional flood-frequency relation for small streams as soon as the necessary data are collected. Recognizing that an annual-flood series distribution will be used, rainfall-runoff simulation techniques are being tested for possible use in extending records of annual peaks. These techniques should afford usable relations sooner than would be possible by using routine techniques such as the "index-flood method