Water Quality Assessment Cypress Creek

Adrian L. VoglAquatic Resources

Texas State University

Jason PinchbackRiver System InstituteTexas State University

Outline

• Long-term trends 1973-2007– Cypress Creek at RR-12

• Short-term trends 2003-2007– 4 sites on Cypress Creek– Jacob’s Well, RR-12, Blue Hole, Blanco River

• Conclusions• Decision Support System

Long-term trends

• Overall water quality still very high

Cypress Creek at RR-12Total Suspended Solids and Streamflow, 1973 - 2007

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

12/2/1973 5/25/1979 11/14/1984 5/7/1990 10/28/1995 4/19/2001 10/10/2006

TSS

(mg/

L)

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

flow

(cfs

)

TSS (mg/L) Flow (Moving average)

Long-term patternsFecal coliform and Streamflow

Cypress Creek at RR-12Fecal coliform and Stream Flow, 1973 - 2007

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

7/20/1972 8/28/1976 10/6/1980 11/14/1984 12/23/1988 1/31/1993 3/11/1997 4/19/2001 5/28/2005 7/6/2009

Feca

l col

iform

(# c

olon

ies/

100m

L)

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

flow

(cfs

)

Fecal coliform Flow (Moving Average)

Cypress Creek at RR-12Total Phosphorus, 1973 - 2007

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

7/20/1972 8/28/1976 10/6/1980 11/14/1984 12/23/1988 1/31/1993 3/11/1997 4/19/2001 5/28/2005 7/6/2009

P (m

g/L)

Cypress Creek at RR-12Total Phosphorus, 1973 - 2007

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

7/20/1972 8/28/1976 10/6/1980 11/14/1984 12/23/1988 1/31/1993 3/11/1997 4/19/2001 5/28/2005 7/6/2009

P (m

g/L)

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

flow

(cfs

)

Cypress Creek at RR-12Nitrite + Nitrate, 1989 - 2007

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

8/11/1987 8/10/1989 8/10/1991 8/9/1993 8/9/1995 8/8/1997 8/8/1999 8/7/2001 8/7/2003 8/6/2005 8/6/2007

TSS

(mg/

L)

Cypress Creek at RR-12Total Suspended Solids and Streamflow, 1973 - 2007

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

12/2/1973 5/25/1979 11/14/1984 5/7/1990 10/28/1995 4/19/2001 10/10/2006

TSS

(mg/

L)

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

flow

(cfs

)

TSS (mg/L) Flow (Moving average)

Short-term Trends2003-2007

Short-term trends

• E coli, Nitrogen, and Total Suspended Solids correlate with flow peaks

• Also seeing some peaks at low flows

E coli and Flow at Blue Hole

0.00

500.00

1000.00

1500.00

2000.00

2500.00

3000.00

12/14/2005 3/24/2006 7/2/2006 10/10/2006 1/18/2007 4/28/2007

E. c

oli

0.00

10.00

20.00

30.00

40.00

50.00

60.00

70.00

80.00

Flow

(cfs

)

e coli flow

Short-term trends

Cypress Creek at RR-12Total Suspended Solids, 2000 - 2007

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

3/15/2000 7/28/2001 12/10/2002 4/23/2004 9/5/2005 1/18/2007

TSS

(mg/

L)

• Total suspended solids increased since 2000

Upstream to Downstream WQ

• Upstream to downstream trends– pH ↑– SC ↓– TSS ↑

TSS by site, 2003-2007

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

1 2 3 4Site

1=Jacob's Well, 2=RR-12, 3=Blue Hole, 4=CC at Blanco

TSS

(mg/

L)

MaximumMeanStd. Dev

E. Coli in Cypress Creek

• E. coli increases downstream, peaks at Blue Hole site

E. coli in Cypress Creek

0

400

800

1200

1600

2000

2400

Jacob's Well RR-12 Blue Hole CC atBlanco

# C

olon

ies/

100m

L

MaximumMean

Conclusions

• Need to have continued monitoring

• Multiple sites useful for – Determining upstream to downstream trends

– Identifying problem areas for NPS

– Observe long-term trends in WQ

Decision Support System(DSS)

Output Module

Database management systemTopographyHydrology

Water qualityLand Use/Land CoverEconomic Indicators

Simulation model(s)User Interface

DSS Purposes

• Better understand cause-and-effect relationships in the watershed

• Objectively compare the effects of possible land management practices

• Aid in reaching agreement regarding specific local areas in need of increased protection and the management strategies to be pursued

• Assist ongoing efforts in public outreach and education concerning the watershed management and water quality issues