Trinity River Land and Water Summit: Overview of Watersheds, Water Quality Impairments, and Planning Efforts
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Given at the Trinity River Land and Water Summit in Athens, Texas, on October 2, 2013. Purpose was to highlight specific watersheds in the middle Trinity River basin and provide details on different watershed planning tools that could be used to improve water quality. Other presentations during the day explained how cattle grazing, row crop farming, and wildlife management can all accomplish water quality goals when done with the overall watershed health in mind, especially for the Trinity River that provides water for 45% of the Texas population. Presentation featured questions that the audience could answer using remote clickers for immediate feedback from the entire group. Results are on the slides and will lead to greater understanding of stakeholders in this part of the Trinity River basin. Keynote speakers were Todd Staples, Texas Agriculture Commissioner, and Bob McCan, President of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.
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Trinity River Land and Water Summit: Overview of Watersheds, Water Quality Impairments, and Planning Efforts
- 1. Overview of watersheds, impairments, and planning efforts
- 2. WQS are the water quality criteria to protect designated uses of a water segment Designated Uses ◦ Recreation ◦ Aquatic Life Use ◦ Public Water Supply ◦ General Impaired ◦ Doesn’t meet criteria for designated uses according to water quality standards by TCEQ ◦ Placed on 303(d) list and action must be taken within 13 years from listing (TMDL, WPP)
- 4. Regulatory Focuses only on pollutant(s) causing impairment Water body always on 303(d) list Voluntary, community- driven Holistic – focuses on all potential pollutant sources in watershed Water body usually (not always) on 303(d) list Watershed Protection Strategies
- 7. 1. Yes 2. No 3. Need more info Yes No Need m ore info 71% 25% 4%
- 8. 1. Yes 2. No 3. Not sure Yes No Notsure 72% 24% 4%
- 10. BMPS Pesticides Pasture wildlife
- 11. Are there additional natural resource concerns for this watershed? Hogs Illegal dumping
- 14. Do you perceive land and/or water resource problems in your watershed? of BLH Lignite Loss of blh Pasture Brush management Invasives (hogs, etc.) Easements
- 17. “Aquatic Life Use” category Critical for fish and other aquatic organisms Measured in milligrams per liter (mg/L) Influences: ◦ Temperature ◦ Season/Time of Day ◦ Stream Flow ◦ Plant Photosynthesis and Shading Causes: ◦ Organic matter decomposition (natural) ◦ Excess nutrients in runoff ◦ Wastewater effluent
- 18. DO 24 hour average criteria = 5 mg/L DO 24 hour minimum criteria = 3 mg/L Credit: Univ. of Florida
- 21. Method to set standards appropriate for each waterbody Structured scientific assessment of the factors affecting the attainment of uses which may include physical, chemical, biological and economic factors May result in change in water quality standards for that waterbody Involves more intensive water quality sampling and habitat assessment
- 22. Potential reasons for lowering a use or criteria: ◦ Naturally-occurring substances ◦ Natural flow conditions ◦ Human-caused conditions that cannot be remedied ◦ Hydrologic modifications (dams, intakes, etc.) ◦ Physical conditions of the water body ◦ Substantial economic and social impacts
- 23. “Contact Recreation” use category High levels can cause sickness if ingested Measured in colonies/100 mL Sources: ◦ Wastewater effluent ◦ Failing septic systems ◦ Feral hogs ◦ Livestock ◦ Wildlife ◦ Natural in the system
- 24. 126 605 126 630 1030 2060 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 Primary Contact Rec Noncontact Rec Primary Contact Rec Secondary Contact 1 Secondary Contact 2 Noncontact Rec GeometricMean 2000 Standards 2010 Standards
- 25. UAA to determine correct standards for recreation category Consists of ◦ Field survey to determine usability (adequate depth, flow, access) ◦ Evidence of recreation use ◦ Survey of landowners and others of past recreation use May change standards and raise allowable bacteria levels
- 27. Cropland (< 1%) Forest (20%) Developed: High (<1%) Developed: Low (5%) Grassland (8%) Wetlands (21%) Open Water (2%) Pasture/Hay (42%) Catfish Creek Watershed Land Use
- 28. 1. Enacts regulation 2. Determines correct water quality standards 3. Nothing 4. Bring more recreation to creek Enactsregulation Determ inescorrectw at.. Nothing Bringm orerecreation to... 11% 3% 11% 76%
- 29. 1. Very frequent 2. Frequent 3. Not frequent 4. None or very little Veryfrequent Frequent NotfrequentNoneorverylittle 4% 48% 33% 15%
- 30. 1. Yes 2. No 3. Need more info Yes No Need m ore info 65% 24% 12%
- 31. 1. Yes 2. No 3. Not sure Yes No Notsure 73% 24% 3%
- 32. 1. Yes 2. No 3. Need more information Yes NoNeed m ore inform ation 67% 19% 14%
- 35. 1. Very frequent 2. Frequent 3. Not frequent 4. None or very little Veryfrequent Frequent NotfrequentNoneorverylittle 0% 42% 58% 0%
- 37. 1. Yes 2. No 3. Need more info Yes No Need m ore info 52% 41% 7%
- 38. 1. Yes 2. No 3. Not sure Yes No Notsure 66% 24% 10%
- 39. 1. Yes 2. No 3. Need more information Yes NoNeed m ore inform ation 15% 62% 23%
- 42. 1. Very frequent 2. Frequent 3. Not frequent 4. None or very little Veryfrequent Frequent NotfrequentNoneorverylittle 14% 21% 64% 0%
- 43. 1. Yes 2. No 3. Need more info Yes No Need m ore info 74% 26% 0%
- 44. 1. Yes 2. No 3. Not sure Yes No Notsure 70% 26% 4%
- 45. 1. Yes 2. No 3. Need more information Yes NoNeed m ore inform ation 53% 40% 7%
- 48. What are the major natural resource concerns for this watershed beyond WQ impairment?
- 50. 1. Yes 2. No 3. Already adopted Yes No Alreadyadopted 85% 15% 0%
- 51. 1. Very Likely 2. Likely 3. Neutral 4. Not Very Likely 5. Not Likely VeryLikely Likely NeutralNotVeryLikely NotLikely 74% 19% 3% 0% 3%
Notas del editor
- So what are the major impairments in Texas? These are diagrams of the most common impairments in our state’s waters. You can see that bacteria and dissolved oxygen impairments are by far the 2 most prevalent types of impairments in Texas.
- There are 2 approaches to addressing water quality problems in Texas. Total Maximum Daily Loads, or TMDLs, are regulatory in nature as they must be done after 13 years of being on the 303(d) list. Examines the maximum amount of pollutant that can enter a waterway and still meet water quality standards. TMDLs only focus on the pollutant causing the impairment, so other problems that may exist cannot be addressed in a TMDL plan. Whereas a watershed protection plan (WPP) is voluntary, and looks at all aspects of watershed health and all potential sources of pollution. A key difference between WPPs and TMDLs is that TMDLs are regulatory in nature. WPPs are voluntary programs and are not mandated by federal law. In general, WPPs are a way of restoring water quality and avoiding regulatory action in a watershed. For this reason, it takes a much more holistic approach to watershed management and focuses on all potential sources of pollutants in a watershed. TMDLs, on the other hand, focus only on the pollutant causing the impairment. Lastly, WPPs can be developed for water bodies that are not on the 303(d) list, while TMDLs are always developed for water bodies that are on the 303(d) list. Developing a WPP for your watershed will ensure that regulations don’t get placed upon that watershed, which is another great reason to conduct one.
- Richland-Chambers Richland Creek – concern for low DOChambers Creek & Reservoir – concern for chlorophyll a, low DO, nitrate, phosphorus
- 1.27 million acresShrub/Scrub cover makes up the largest land use in the watershed at almost 90%.Forested land come in second at just over 7%. Developed areas account for 1.7% of the land use. Open water is less than 0.1%
- LSHS, well owner, riparian mgmt, septic systems, farming BMPs
- 277,500 acres
- Tehuacana Creek – fully supporting
- Topics can include Lone Star Healthy Streams, riparian restoration, wildlife habitat mgmt, Well Owner network, septic system maintenance, etc.
- Small fluctuation with a lot of tree cover
- Very little tree coverage leads to greater fluctuations in temps and DO
- Recreational Use Attainability Analysis is not really a watershed protection strategy as much as a method to get the standards right for waterbody designated for contact recreation, which are primarily impaired by bacteria. High levels of bacteria is the most common impairment in Texas, especially in eastern Texas, and poses the greatest risk to recreationists who may ingest the water. The problem is, the standard for E. coli, which is a bacteria used to indicate the presence of fecal matter in a waterbody, was set at 126 colonies per 100 mL across the state. Not every stream is created equal. Some streams are too shallow or don’t always flow or have limited public access and therefore limits the usability of that stream for recreation.
- Recreational Use Attainability Analysis is not really a watershed protection strategy as much as a method to get the standards right for waterbody designated for contact recreation, which are primarily impaired by bacteria. High levels of bacteria is the most common impairment in Texas, especially in eastern Texas, and poses the greatest risk to recreationists who may ingest the water. The problem is, the standard for E. coli, which is a bacteria used to indicate the presence of fecal matter in a waterbody, was set at 126 colonies per 100 mL across the state. Not every stream is created equal. Some streams are too shallow or don’t always flow or have limited public access and therefore limits the usability of that stream for recreation.
- Recreational Use Attainability Analysis is not really a watershed protection strategy as much as a method to get the standards right for waterbody designated for contact recreation, which are primarily impaired by bacteria. High levels of bacteria is the most common impairment in Texas, especially in eastern Texas, and poses the greatest risk to recreationists who may ingest the water. The problem is, the standard for E. coli, which is a bacteria used to indicate the presence of fecal matter in a waterbody, was set at 126 colonies per 100 mL across the state. Not every stream is created equal. Some streams are too shallow or don’t always flow or have limited public access and therefore limits the usability of that stream for recreation.
- Catfish Creek – impaired for bacteria and low DO188,000 acres
- 2006 NLCD Land Use/Land CoverShrub/Scrub cover makes up the largest land use in the watershed at almost 90%.Forested land come in second at just over 7%. Developed areas account for 1.7% of the land use. Open water is less than 0.1%
- 327,126 acres
- Upper Keechi Creek – impaired for low DOReviewing samples for accuracy
- 386,782 acres
- Bedias Creek – concern for bacteria and zinc
- Topics can include Lone Star Healthy Streams, riparian restoration, wildlife habitat mgmt, Well Owner network, septic system maintenance, etc.