San Bernard Watershed Protection Plan

1. San Bernard Watershed Protection Plan August 3, 2011

3. The San Bernard River flows approximately 125 miles from the headwaters near New Ulm to the Gulf of Mexico

5. WPP Process Began in September 2009, through October 2011 Meeting every other month with stakeholders Funding from TSSWCB for additional monitoring from September 2011 to August 2013 Receiving TCEQ funding for stakeholder coordination over the next year while applying for implementation funding after the plan is complete Applied for funding for litter and illegal dumping clean-up and education campaign

7. There are also areas of excessive nutrients and low dissolved oxygen, which may negatively affect fish and other aquatic life.

9. SELECT modeling SELECT (Spatially Explicit Load Enrichment Calculation Tool) is an analytical approach for developing an inventory of potential bacteria loads based on land use and geographical location. It evaluates each pollutant source and identifies subwatersheds with the greatest contamination potential. The model overestimates potential sources because it does not account for mitigation processes within the watershed. This process included a review of the land cover datasets that we had for the area.

10. SELECT forecast results

11. SELECT modeling The inclusion of a buffer zone around the streams showed reduction on rural loadings between 40 to 60%. The use of number or rural households instead of OSSFs lead to increments on loadings from this source, but with no drastic changes in the relative contribution. The model does not account for mitigation processes such as settling, vegetative filtering , temperature, solar inactivation, or other biological factors that bacteria might undergo before reaching the stream. For this reason, SELECT should be coupled with a watershed model to simulate transport processes.

12. What the models will tell us The modeling results will determine load reductions necessary to meet standards Where load reduction need to be met Which Best Management Practices will help accomplish this These results will be included in the plan which can now be found on our website

13. Other Projects H-GAC has been working on an OSSF inventory for the region. This information will be posted to our website once complete Watershed signage projects are underway RUAA completed by EIH and TCEQ, study will be published soon

14. Upcoming Events Stream Team Training August 12 in Sealy and September 9 in Sugar Land www.h-gac.com/texasstreamteam Texas Watershed Stewards August 30 in Baytown http://tws.tamu.edu Next San Bernard Stakeholder meeting August 18 in West Columbia

15. Contact Information Aubin Phillips, AICP aubin.phillips@h-gac.com 832-681-2524 www.h-gac.com/go/sanbernard