Cotton Bayou Water ersh shed ed Charact acter erizatio zation Webinar April 28, 2020 h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow
Meeti ting ng Outli line ▪ Introductions ▪ Watershed Overview ▪ Project Purpose and Methods ▪ Preliminary Findings ▪ Next Steps ▪ Discussion h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow
Who We Are Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) lead state environmental management agency Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) regional council of governments h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow
What We Do We work to improve surface water quality concerns in regional water bodies by using sound scientific practices and local knowledge to identify sources of pollution and develop effective reduction strategies. h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow
Water ershe shed Overv rview iew h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow
Water ersh shed ed Ar Area ▪ 16 square mile area ▪ 47 miles of stream network • Main tributary is Hackberry Gully ▪ Overlaps jurisdictions of Mont Belvieu, Old River-Winfree, Cove, Baytown, and Beach City ▪ Population estimate ~3,300 h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow
Elevatio tion ▪ Relatively flat,17 meters (56 feet) of elevation ▪ Stream flows less likely to be driven by natural elevation change ▪ Channelization and other modifications may be more influential h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow
Land Co Cover Current Land Cover Percentages Developed areas forecasted to expand h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow
Land Us Use Undeveloped: 54.6% → 35.2% Residential: 30.3% → 43.0% Multiple: 6.1% → 12.1% Commercial: 2.0% → 2.6% h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow
Water er Quality ty h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow
Why Water er Quali lity y Matters ers h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow
Surfa rface e Water ter Uses ▪ Agricultural ▪ Municipal ▪ Industrial ▪ Recreational ▪ Natural h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow
Determ ermin inin ing Water ter Qual ality ity ▪ Statewide monitoring conducted to observe compliance with water quality standards for different uses (recreation, aquatic life, etc.) ▪ TCEQ produces integrated report of results every two years ▪ Waterways exceeding standards are impai aired ed h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow
Status tus of Cotton n Bayou you ▪ Impai aired red for aquatic life use and contact recreation • Low oxygen levels • High bacteria concentrations ▪ This project will focus on characterizing sources of bacteria in Cotton Bayou h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow
Bacteria cteria Sources rces ▪ Human n Waste te • Wastewater • Septic/Aerobic Systems • Illicit Sewage • Dumping ▪ Domestic c Animal mal Waste te • Pets • Livestock ▪ Waste te from om Wildlife fe • Mammals (deer, feral hogs, etc.) • Birds h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow
Other er Chal allen lenges es ▪ Sediment • Changes hydrology and flooding • Impacts aquatic life ▪ Trash ash/D /Dump mping • Introduces pollutants • Impacts hydrology and habitat ▪ Invasi asives es • Plants and animals that can impact hydrology and water quality ▪ Growth • Increase in contaminant sources • Decrease in open space h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow
Water ershe shed d Characte acteri rization zation Report rt h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow
Report t Purpose se ▪ Describes water quality and pollutant sources impacting water quality in the watershed ▪ Preliminary step in determining a Total al Maximum imum Daily ly Load d (TMDL) ) for a water body ▪ Sound science and stakeholder knowledge combine to create roadmap for improvement h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow
Monit itor orin ing in the Waters ershed hed ▪ 2 active stations monitored quarterly for Enterococci levels ▪ Upstream station 18696 at FM 565 near Cove ▪ Downstream station 18697 at confluence with Cotton Lake h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow
Chara aracteri cterizin ing Impairment irments ▪ Results of Cotton Bayou monitoring data show high levels of fecal indicator bacteria, Enterococci ▪ How do Enterococci concentrations in Cotton Bayou compare to state water quality standards? h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow
Bacteria teria Levels vels (18696, , upstrea tream) m) 100000 10000 cfu per 100 mL (Log Scale) 1000 100 10 1 Geomean SWQS (35 cfu/100 mL) Single Sample SWQS (130 cfu/100 mL) Annual Geomean of Enterococci Measured Enterococci Measured h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow
Bacteria teria Levels vels (18697, 8697, downst wnstrea ream) m) 100000 10000 cfu per 100 mL (Log Scale) 1000 100 10 1 Geomean SWQS (35 cfu/100 mL) Single Sample SWQS (130 cfu/100 mL) Annual Geomean of Enterococci Measured Enterococci Measured h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow
Stream eamflow low and Poll lluta tant nt Loads ds Pollutant Pollutant Flow Flow ▪ Comparing observed pollutant levels to corresponding stream flow conditions can help us estimate Point sources of impairment Non-Point Source Source ▪ A flow duration curve (FDC) High represents daily flows ranked by Magnitude magnitude • Ranked flows converted to percent of the study period that flows of each successive magnitude were exceeded Low Low High % Time Exceeded h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com h-gac.com Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow Serving Today • Planning for Tomorrow
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