Texas Clean Rivers Program2008 - 2009

2009 Steering Committee Meetings

Nueces River AuthorityTexas Commission on Environmental Quality

Citizens

March 3, 2009 – Uvalde March 5, 2009 – Corpus Christi

30,500 square miles

3 Basins 44 Segments

OverviewOverviewNRA Area of ResponsibilityNRA Area of Responsibility

OverviewFunding and Allocation of Resources• State fee-funded• $9 Million State-Wide for 2 years• NRA: $548,272

• Project Administration – 21%• Quality Assurance – 4%• Water Quality Monitoring – 39%• Data Management – 13%• Data Analysis and Reporting – 9%• Stakeholder Participation and Public Outreach – 13%• Special Projects: Petronila Creek Continuous Monitoring – 1%

OverviewDeliverables

• Quality Assured Data

• Data Accessibility via Website

• 2008 Basin Summary Report (every 5th yr)

• 2009 Basin Highlights Report

Coordinated Monitoring Schedulehttp://cms.lcra.org

OverviewClean Rivers Program

• Water Quality Assessment– 2008 – December 1, 1999 – November 30, 2006– 2010 – December 1, 2001 – November 30, 2008

• Water Quality Inventory– Concerns – 305(b) list– Impairments – 303(d) list

Use Assessment &Monitoring Parameters

• Aquatic Life– Dissolved Oxygen

• Public Water Supply– Chloride– Sulfate– TDS

• Contact Recreation– Bacteria

• General Use– Water Temperature– pH– Ammonia– Nitrogen– Phosphorus

• Fish Consumption– Fish Tissue

© Shedd Aquarium/www.fishphotos.org

Assessment ParametersConcerns

• 20% of samples > criteria– Ammonia-Nitrogen– Nitrate+Nitrite– Orthophosphorus– Total phosphorus– Chlorophyll-a

Assessment ParametersImpairments

• TDS, Chloride, Sulfate– Average > criteria

• DO: grab samples and 24-Hr average– 10% of samples < criteria

• pH– 10% of samples outside range

• E. coli, Enterococcus– Geometric mean > criteria – 25% of samples > criteria

Overview Role of the Steering Committee

and StakeholdersObjective 4: Inform and Engage Stakeholders

• 1. Give stakeholders the opportunity to contribute their ideas and concerns through steering committee meetings, public meetings, and/or other forums

• 2. Participate in public information and education activities to increase stakeholder involvement in the program and interest in water quality issues

• 3. Communicate information on water quality issues to stakeholders so that priorities may be set considering local, regional, state, and federal needs

• 4. Support stakeholders, volunteers, and other programs in addressing water quality issues

• 5. Provide information requested by interested parties and disseminate information via the Internet

FY 2009 Monitoring Sites• San Antonio – Nueces Coastal Basin

– NRA • 11 sites

– Copano• 12 sites

– TCEQ• 12 sites

FY 2009 Monitoring Sites

• Nueces Basin– NRA

• 18 sites

– TCEQ• 18 sites

FY 2008 Monitoring Sites• Nueces – Rio Grande Coastal Basin

– NRA

• 2 routine sites

• 6 Arroyo Colorado

Special Study

• CWQM on Petronila

Creek

– TCEQ

• 34 sites

Project Updates• 2107 Atascosa River TMDL

– DO – aquatic life use attainability analysis (UAA)– Bacteria – recreational UAA

• 2110 Lower Sabinal River TMDL– New WWTF construction during 2009

• 2204 Petronila Creek Above Tidal Continuous Monitoring– Installed December 2006– www.tceq.state.tx.us/

cgi-bin/compliance/monops/water_daily_summary.pl?cams=731

Project Updates• 2485/2485A Oso Bay/Oso Creek Bacteria

– Creek: TSSWCB projects to locate source– Bay: Bacteria UAA for Blind Oso area

• 2485/2491 Oso Bay/Laguna Madre Low DO– TMDL concluded cause to be natural characteristics– Proposed criteria revision

• 2001/2003/2471 Mission River Tidal/Aransas River Tidal/Copano Bay TMDL– Bacteria Source Tracking (BST)– TSSWCB/NRA sampling project to support Copano TMDL

Project Updates• 2482 Nueces Bay Zinc TMDL

– IP approved – documentation of natural attenuation

• 2201/2202 Arroyo Colorado Watershed Protection Plan– www.arroyocolorado.org

• Arroyo Colorado Bacteria Study– Monthly monitoring– Comparison of 3 indicator bacteria

• 2102 – Nueces River Cleanup

Other Impairments

• Bacteria– 2108 – San Miguel Creek– 2109 – Leona River– 2117 – Frio River Above Choke Canyon Res.– 2481 – Corpus Christi Bay– 2492A – San Fernando Creek

Other Impairments

• TDS– 2106 – Nueces River / Lower Frio River

• Low DO– 2116 – Choke Canyon Reservoir

Proposed Changes to Water Quality Standards

• All classified freshwater segments– E. coli geometric mean: from 126 to 206

• 2106 Nueces River Lower Frio River– TDS: from 500 to 1080– Chloride: from 250 to 370– Sulfate: from 250 to 180

• 2116 Choke Canyon Reservoir– TDS: from 500 to 830

Proposed Changes to Water Quality Standards

• 2485 Oso Bay & 2491 Laguna Madre– DO: 24-hr Average from 5 to 4, no minimum,

• June - October

• All bays– New designated seagrass propagation use

Outreach Activities

• Ag Fairs

• Science Days

• Festivals

• Local Fairs

• Community Meetings

• Civic Group Meetings

• Field Trips

• Workshops

Watershed Models

Groundwater Model

Rainfall Runoff Model

Monarch Madness Festival

Aquatic Education Program

Wetland on Wheels

2009 Basin Highlights Report

– Draft available for review– Comments by April 30– Comments to Rocky Freund– Email: rfreund@nueces-ra.org– Fax: 361-825-3195– Mail: Nueces River Authority

6300 Ocean Drive – Unit 5865

Corpus Christi, TX 78412-5865

Input for FY 2010 Planning

• Additional routine monitoring sites?

• Special studies?

• Additional outreach opportunities?

• Additional web-based information?

Contact Information

http://www.nueces-ra.org

Sky Lewey: slewey@nueces-ra.org 830-278-6810

Rocky Freund: rfreund@nueces-ra.org361-825-3193

Beth Almaraz: balmaraz@nueces-ra.org

361-825-3193