Region HOperation: Water

Resource

Counties of HPopulationCounty

38,475WALLER

64,026WALKER

10,732TRINITY

24,739SAN JACINTO

37,297POLK

399,941MONTGOMERY

13,534MADISON

77,176LIBERTY

16,218LEON

3,830,130HARRIS (Houston)

282,126GALVESTON

487,047FORT BEND

32,383CHAMBERS

286,773BRAZORIA

26,928AUSTIN

Water Resources

They are diverse economical areas among Region H including the industrialized communities seen in Brazoria, Harris, Galveston, Fort Bend, and Montgomery Counties and the agricultural based areas in Austin, Chambers, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Polk, San Jacinto, Trinity, Walker, and Waller Counties.

The Region include four coastal basins and three major river systems; H encompasses the San Jacinto River Basin, the lower portions of the Trinity and Brazos River Basins, and includes part or all of the Brazos-Colorado, the San Jacinto-Brazos, the Trinity-San Jacinto, and the Neches-Trinity coastal basins. Along the coast this area holds the Trinity and Galveston Bay estuaries.

Facts: Region H

Population: 4,848,948

Approximately 65 percent (3,170,496) of this population resides in 98 cities and towns with populations of over 500 people, 16 of these cities have populations in excess of 25,000.

The population for Region H is projected to more than double by the year 2060.

Annual Precipitation:

40-60 inches

Groundwater SourcesFour aquifers supply groundwater

within the Region H area.  The aquifer that furnishes the most groundwater

within the area is the Gulf Coast aquifer.  The other major aquifer in

the study area is the Carrizo-Wilcox. There are also two minor

aquifers in this part of the state; the Sparta and Queen City aquifers occur in Leon County.  Groundwater use is regulated in Harris, Galveston, and

Fort Bend Counties due to the potential for over-drafting the Gulf

Coast aquifer.

Groundwater Supplies

Almost 60 percent of water demands in Texas are satisfied from groundwater.

Surface Water Supplies • Surface Water Sources

Surface water sources in Region H are reservoir storage and run-of-river supply for the three rivers in the area; the Trinity, the San Jacinto, and the Brazos.  Notable reservoir supplies in these basins include Lake Livingston in the Trinity River Basin, and Lake Houston and Lake Conroe in the San Jacinto River Basin.  A system of reservoirs in the upper Brazos River Basin provides for firm water supplies in the western portions of Region H.  Supplies from the Neches River Basin are also available to some portions of Region H, while run-of-river supplies in the coastal basins also provide some supply.

Lake Houston

State Water Plan under Section 1.01 of Senate Bill 1

“The state water plan shall provide for the orderly development, management, and conservation of water resources and preparation for

and response to drought conditions, in order that sufficient water will be available at a reasonable cost to ensure public health, safety, and

welfare; further economic development; and protect the agricultural and natural resources of the entire state.”

Under this bill, the Region H Regional Water Planning Group, or RWPG, must go out and find river and stream segments that have unique ecological values.

They must make a report including physical descriptions along with literature and data pertaining to why this place is of value. Then they send the

information back to Texas Parks and Wildlife Departments where they decide if it is a necessary ecological systems and thus take action.

Criteria for State Water Plan

• 1) biological function--stream segments which display significant overall habitat value including both quantity and quality considering the degree of biodiversity, age, and uniqueness observed and including terrestrial, wetland, aquatic, or estuarine habitats;

• (2) hydrologic function--stream segments which are fringed by habitats that perform valuable hydrologic functions relating to water quality, flood attenuation, flow stabilization, or groundwater recharge and discharge;

• (3) riparian conservation areas--stream segments which are fringed by significant areas in public ownership including state and federal refuges, wildlife management areas, preserves, parks, mitigation areas, or other areas held by governmental organizations for conservation purposes, or stream segments which are fringed by other areas managed for conservation purposes under a governmentally approved conservation plan;

• (4) high water quality/exceptional aquatic life/high aesthetic value--stream segments and spring resources that are significant due to unique or critical habitats and exceptional aquatic life uses dependent on or associated with high water quality; or

• (5) threatened or endangered species/unique communities--sites along streams where water development projects would have significant detrimental effects on state or federally listed threatened and endangered species, and sites along streams significant due to the presence of unique, exemplary, or unusually extensive natural communities.

Texas Water Day Texas Water Day is an annual event drawing Texas water professionals to Washington, DC, to inform Congress and federal agencies of the critical

water issues facing the state and to support initiatives addressing those issues. Texas Water Day 2009 will be held February 3-4, 2009 in

Washington. D.C.

Last year, some 100 Texas water professionals once again joined forces February 6 to spread the word in Washington, DC, about top water issues in the Lone Star State. The fourth annual Texas Water Day was sponsored by

the Texas Water Conservation Association and the Texas Water Development Board. All areas of Texas were represented by 56 regional, state, and federal organizations and private-sector entities. Support was

provided by 26 sponsors.

Plan of Action

One new major reservoir proposed in the region: Allen's Creek Reservoir which would inundate approximately 7,000 acres of land. Two additional reservoirs are included in the plan as "alternative water management strategies": Bedias Reservoir, and the on-channel Little River Reservoir which would be located outside the region in Milam County.

Current Water ConservationWater district to start conservation campaign in HoustonBoard will spend $250,000 to help promote methods to save waterBy BETH KUHLESChronicle CorrespondentDO YOUR PARTThe Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District will launch a public education campaign later thismonth to get the public to save water. Here are some successful efforts that were promoted by theNorth Texas Municipal Water District:• Turn off a faucet while brushing teeth saves six gallons of water a day.• Sweep your driveway instead of hosing down saves 80 gallons of water a day.• Cut a 15 minute shower by half saves 43 gallons of water a day.• Water your yard in early morning or late evening saves 25 gallons of water a day.Source: North Texas Municipal Water DistrictTRACKING WATER USAGEMontgomery County relies on three underground aquifers for its water supply. Following is key data onthe use of those aquifers.• Recharge rate (that which can be replenished annually through rainfall and runoff): 64,000acre feet*• Current permitted amount that can be taken from three aquifers: 77,000 acre feet*• Number of permits in Montgomery County: 798• Estimated number of wells: 1,120* An acre foot is equal to 325,851 gallons.Source: Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District

County seeks freshwater protection for bayBy Carter ThompsonThe Daily NewsPublished November 02, 2004State legislators should work to ensure that Galveston Bay is not shorted the freshwater inflowsits ecosystem needs, county leaders requested Monday.The resolution, which passed unanimously, comes in response to a National Wildlife Federationstudy that listed Galveston Bay as one of several Texas estuaries threatened by salinity levelsover the next 50 years.The study said the bay could see its populations of shrimp, oysters and fish plummet as thestate’s growing population made more demands on the San Jacinto and Trinity Rivers.The resolution was sought by Mark Muhich, president of the local chapter of the Sierra Club.County officials said it was important for the county to tell other parts of the state of theimportance of Galveston Bay.“Galveston Bay obviously has economic impact, quality of life impact,” said County Judge JimYarbrough. “It’s a very important resource, not only to Galveston County but to the entire area.”Rep. Craig Eiland, who represents southern Galveston County, said he would evaluate the studyto see if the legislature should take action on it and, if so, what could be done.Last week, Eiland said he met with Galveston Bay oystermen about the damage to the fisherycaused by high freshwater inflow in this wet year. He said the discussion centered on gettingfederal disaster relief for the fishery or getting the oystermen breaks on their payments to thestate.State Sen. Kyle Janek, who also represents southern Galveston County, said freshwater inflowswere among the many issues facing the state’s bays that state lawmakers had to consider.“The bays are natural resources that must be preserved and protected,” he said.The cities of Houston, Dallas and Fort Worth are among the users of water from Galveston Bay’swatershed. About 2.2 million acre feet are removed a year, but an additional 2.7 million acre feetwere permitted.Additional permit requests are pending. The federation’s study predicted major ecologicalproblems if communities upstream actually took out all the water for which they held permits, andincreased their use of recycled wastewater that would otherwise have been put back in the rivers.The other estuaries deemed in peril by the report are Sabine Lake, Matagorda, San Antonio andCorpus Christi.

Coastal Dead Zone

I found a science article stating that Texas has had a dead zone of the coast for the past 23 years and will likely remain there. The article states these dead zones are caused by pollution from farm fertilizers in rivers that flow into the bays and gulf; also soil erosion and sewage plant discharge factor into the cause also. Maybe if we got more freshwater, oxygen rich water flowing into these areas we could help with the Texas dead zones and create more habitats and ecosystems for marine life.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-04/tau-rcd040108.php

Conclusion

Region H is very different from the majority of water regions in Texas. With their high annual rainfall they are better of than areas in North and West Texas. They have also implemented many conservation methods along with their Water Plan. Nevertheless there is more conservation that can be done. All in all, they have worked well with TPWD in designated valuable ecological zones and coming up with viable water plans.

Sources

http://www.texaswatermatters.org/region_h.htm

http://regionhwater.org/

http://www.eurekalert.org/