2014 Technical Reports

Authors: T.A. Berthold, A. Gregory

The focus of Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board (TSSWCB) Project 10-11, “Implementing Educational Components of the Arroyo Colorado WPP Focused on Agricultural NPS Pollution”, was to continue efforts to alleviate impairments in the Arroyo Colorado watershed through educational programs and direct mailings targeted at controlling agricultural nonpoint source pollution. Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI) and Texas AgriLife Extension Service (Extension) conducted educational programs within the three county area of the Arroyo Colorado watershed focused on best management practices (BMPs), nutrient management, and sources of financial and technical assistance. The continuation of these vital programs was made possible by funding from a Clean Water Act Section 319(h) grant from the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board (TSSWCB) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Authors: Texas A&M AgriLife Research, USDA Agricultural Research Service

Authors: L. Gregory, Z. Sheng, A. El Hassan, A.K. McDonald, A. Porter

The Pecos River Watershed Protection Plan identifies the need to identify the sources and specific locations of salinity loading to the river; specifically between Pecos, TX and Girvin, TX. Between these points, the river traverses more than 100 miles making intensive, ground-based data collection extremely difficult and time consuming. To allow for rapid and continuous data collection, a Heliborne Electromagnetic (EM) Survey was planned. Its goals are to 1) identify salinity sources and understand mechanisms of solute transport in the Pecos River and 2) gain a better understanding of hydrological connections between surface water and groundwater as well as inter-aquifer (shallow-deep aquifers) exchange. However, landowner’s privacy concerns prevented the survey from being conducted and led to the early termination of the project.

Authors: C. Swanson, G. Fipps

A smart controller testing facility was established at Texas A&M University in College Station in 2008 in order to evaluate their performance from an “end-user” point of view. The “end-user” is considered to be the landscape or irrigation professional (such as a Licensed Irrigator in Texas) installing the controller. Controllers are tested using the Texas Virtual Landscape which is composed of 6 different zones with varying plant materials, soil types and depths, and precipitation rates.

This report summaries the results of the 2013 evaluations. Nine controllers were evaluated over a 196 day period, from March 4 to May 11 and July 29 to December 1, 2013. Controller performance was analyzed for each seasonal period (spring, summer, fall). Controller performance is evaluated by comparison to the irrigation recommendation of the TexasET Network and Website (http://texaset.tamu.edu), as well as for irrigation adequacy in order to identify controllers which apply excessive and inadequate amounts of water.

Authors: L. Gregory, A. Knutson, E. Edgerton, A. Mukherjee, P. Baumann, M. Masser, K. Wagner

Giant salvinia, a highly invasive aquatic fern native to South America, poses a serious threat to Texas’ waters and has done so since its discovery in the state in the 1990s. If left unmanaged, giant salvinia can cause a multitude of impacts including loss of recreational use, reductions in biodiversity, decreases in water quality, and monetary losses due to control costs and lost revenues. To counter this threat, the Center for Invasive Species Eradication (CISE) was created in 2010 with funding support from then U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) to advance the knowledge about this species and treatment options and hopefully enable eradication of this noxious non-native plant species in Texas. Special focus of the Center’s efforts was placed on Caddo Lake. It is Texas’ only natural lake and has been plagued by giant salvinia since 2006. Levels of the invader present have risen and fallen with changes in weather and lake levels yet the threat it poses remains despite considerable treatment efforts.

Authors: J. Flores, T.A. Berthold

The Arroyo Colorado (AC) is an ancient channel of the Rio Grande and is approximately 90 miles long. The headwaters of the AC begins at the Anzalduas Diversion Dam in Mission, TX and flows eastward through southern Hidalgo County, into Cameron County until it makes a North-North Easterly turn through the city of Harlingen and Rio Hondo and eventually discharging into the Laguna Madre near the Cameron-Willacy County line. The AC has been impaired for low dissolved oxygen (DO) levels within the tidal segment since 1996. The AC tidal segment does not meet the aquatic life use designated by the State of Texas and described in the Water Quality Standards. Additionally, bacteria has always been a parameter of concern for the AC and as of 2006, both the tidal and non-tidal segments of the AC were listed on the 303d list of impaired water bodies due to elevated levels of bacteria.

The Arroyo Colorado Watershed Protection Plan: Phase I (ACWPP) is a comprehensive watershed-based strategy developed by the Arroyo Colorado Watershed Partnership (ACWP) to address these impairments over a 10-year implantation period. The ACWPP primarily addresses the low DO levels in the tidal segment of the AC. The goal of the ACWPP is to reduce the addition of pollutants such as oxygen-demanding substances, nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment to the AC and to improve natural habitat to the degree necessary to meet the uses designated by the State of Texas. Although not specifically targeted for reduction, fecal bacteria loading to the AC is also expected to diminish as a result of the ACWPP implementation. The ACWPP takes into consideration the current uses of the water body, including flood control, navigation, conveyance of municipal/industrial wastewater discharges and irrigation return flows, recreation, and environmental uses and presents a detailed strategy to restore and protect these uses. The WPP included five major components: Wastewater Infrastructure; Agricultural Issues; Habitat Restoration; Further Study and Monitoring/ Refinement of TMDL Analysis; and O&E. The five workgroups developed recommendations for each of their components including action items that will improve water quality.

Authors: W. Allen, R. Lacewell, M. Zinn

Shale gas has emerged as one of the leading energy developments in the United States. Production has risen from roughly 0.9 trillion cubic feet (TCF) in 2006 to 4.8 TCF in 2010. Shale gas now encompasses 23% of U.S. natural gas production and is expected to be at 46% by 2035. Shale gas is considered to be one of the answers to the energy crisis. The goal of this research is to address several issues related to the efficacy of hydraulic fracturing of shale in deep formations to capture oil and gas. In recent years, controversy has risen over the safety of hydraulic fracturing, the amount of water used, the environmental implications, and if the action is economically efficient in the water resources used. This research applies economic principles to develop implications based on industry, government and institutional data, and draw conclusions relative to impacts on the environment, realized amount of water, and value of water used for a typical well in the Eagle-Ford development, a water-scarce region. Relative to very large water consumers such as municipal and irrigated agriculture, hydraulic fracturing is minor but nevertheless this is an arid region with limited water availability. The imputed value of water used for fracturing is several-fold greater than for in other uses. The results are useful to the industry, landowners, policy makers, and other stakeholders.

Authors: G. Bonaiti, G. Fipps

Since 1999, nine (9) irrigation districts in the Hidalgo, Cameron, Willacy and Maverick Counties have installed ten (10) different types of synthetic canal lining materials, totaling approximately 25 miles. In 2005, we began a program to track the long‐term effectiveness and durability of these lining projects and to document the damage caused by such factors as weather, animals, intentional and unintentional vandalism, farm machinery traffic, and normal irrigation district operation and maintenance activities. We visually inspected each project and documented any changes using a lining evaluation form which we developed.

Authors: J. Cathey, B. Alldredge, D. Kalisek, K. Wagner, R. Lopez

Through the Building Partnerships for Cooperative Conservation in the Trinity River Basin project, funded by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with Clean Water Act (CWA) §319(h) funds through the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board (TSSWCB), a Trinity project team was formed consisting of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI), Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences (WFSC)—units of AgriLife Extension—and Trinity Waters (TW; formerly known as Trinity Basin Conservation Foundation). The Trinity project team provided educational workshop programs and online resources, increasing awareness of water quality and watershed concepts.

Authors: D. Boellstorff, D. Gholson, D. Kalisek, J. Smith, R. Gerlich, K. Wagner, M. McFarland, S. Mukhtar

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service (AgriLife Extension) through the Departments of Soil and Crop Sciences (SCSC) and Biological and Agricultural Engineering (BAEN) and the Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI) conducted 14 well owner trainings and 43 well owner screenings throughout the state of Texas through the TSSWCB project 10-04 “Preventing Water Quality Contamination through the Texas Well Owner Network” funded through a Clean Water Act 319(h) nonpoint source grant from the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board (TSSWCB) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Authors: L. Gregory, M. Brown, K. Hein, K. Skow, A. Engling, K. Wagner, T.A. Berthold

In the 2012 Texas Integrated Report and 303(d) List, approximately 48% of the 568 impaired water bodies were caused by high bacteria levels. Once a water body has been listed, the Clean Water Act requires action to be undertaken to restore water quality in that water body. Several options exist to achieve this, which include additional monitoring, a standards assessment, development of a total maximum daily load (TMDL) or development of another watershed based plan such as a watershed protection plan. Traditionally, impairments have been addressed one at a time. In order to more efficiently address similar impairments within the same basin, more efficiently distribute resources, and with the hopes of preventing future listings within the same watershed, a new basin wide approach is being implemented in the Texas River Basins 15 (Colorado – Lavaca), 16 (Lavaca), and 17 (Lavaca Guadalupe). These watersheds, collectively referred to as the Matagorda Bay watershed have five water body assessment units impaired for elevated levels of fecal indicator bacteria: Carancahua Bay, Arenosa Creek, Tres Palacios Creek and two segments of the Lavaca River.

This report discusses the current and historical state of the study area and focuses on describing the physical, hydrological, climatic, and demographic conditions as well as potential sources of pollution. Information presented will be used in future water quality analysis and will assist in determining how to address bacteria impairments in the watershed. Information is compiled on a watershed level, summarizing all three basins, as well as within each basin where appropriate.

Authors: R. Wurbs, Y. Zhang

Precipitation, reservoir surface evaporation, reservoir storage, and stream flow in the 15 major river basins and 8 coastal basins of Texas are explored in this report based on information derived from the Water Availability Modeling (WAM) System maintained by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and databases maintained by the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

Authors: L. Gregory, M. Brown, K. Skow, A. Engeling, K. Wagner, T.A. Berthold

The State of Texas currently contains 568 water bodies considered impaired due to excessive pollutant loading. Of these, approximately 48% are impaired due to elevated levels of fecal indicator bacteria from animals, birds and humans. Once impaired, efforts to restore water quality must be undertaken. This large number of bacteria impairments leaves the State with a sizable task ahead and presents a range of restoration challenges. Restoring all of these impaired water bodies is costly and resource intensive, thus prioritizing future water quality restoration efforts is a means to efficiently allocate available resources and achieve timely restoration results.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed the Recovery Potential Screening (RPS) tool to help prioritize water body restoration planning efforts (Norton et al. 2009). Built as a technical aid for states and government agencies, the RPS tool provides a systematic approach for comparing the relative restorability of water bodies. When employed and supplied with sufficient data, this tool can aid groups and entities considering restoration efforts determine which water bodies have the highest likelihood of successful water quality restoration based on characteristics of the local watershed (U.S. EPA 2014).

Authors: L. Gregory, N. Boitnott, A. Castilaw

The Attoyac Bayou is a rural East Texas water body that drains a watershed that encompasses many East Texas mainstays: agricultural, natural resource production in the form of forest products, oil and gas, abundant wildlife and the rural residents that call it home. Though practices have changed over time, agriculture and forestry remain dominant in the watershed although oil and natural gas production has certainly arisen in the watershed as a significant economic driver. The Attoyac Bayou provides critical water resources to many users, especially wildlife, livestock and humans and ultimately drains into Sam Rayburn Reservoir, one of the state’s largest impoundments.

Assessment and monitoring information was then paired with a stakeholder process in which information was provided to local watershed stakeholders and was used to guide the WPP development process. Ultimately, stakeholders’ decisions and input regarding needed management and tools to mitigate bacteria loadings and, in time, restore water quality, resulted in the development of this WPP. By comprehensively considering the multitude of potential pollutant sources in the watershed, this plan describes recommended management strategies that, when implemented, will reduce pollutant loading in the most cost-effective manner available at the time of planning. This plan is the culmination of more than three years of intensive assessment, evaluation and planning and presents a logical and judicious approach to restore water quality in the Attoyac Bayou and improve the overall health and function of its watershed. Despite the extensive amounts of information that went into the development of this WPP, a better understanding of the watershed and effectiveness of protective or mitigating actions will undoubtedly develop as the plan is implemented and water quality response is evaluated. As such, this WPP is a living document that will evolve as needed through the adaptive management process.

Authors: E. Martin, T. Gentry

The Attoyac Bayou, a sub-watershed within the Upper Neches River Watershed, extends approximately 82 miles through Rusk, Nacogdoches, San Augustine and Shelby counties before emptying into Sam Rayburn Reservoir. With several rural communities in the area, the majority of the land in the watershed is used for cattle and poultry operations, forestry or recreational and wildlife uses. The bayou is listed as an impaired water body on the Texas Integrated Report for Clean Water Act Sections 305(b) and 303(d) due to high levels of E. coli. Three monitoring stations managed by the Angelina & Neches River Authority, U.S. Geological Survey, and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality have provided water quality data on the bayou for a number of years. Beginning in 2000, data collected for E. coli have consistently shown elevated E. coli levels that exceed the applicable Texas Water Quality Standards. Through the Development of a Watershed Protection Plan for Attoyac Bayou project, additional water quality and stream flow data was collected to better understand E. coli loadings to the water body.

Authors: N. Boitnott, A. Castilaw, L. Gregory, K. Wagner

The Attoyac Bayou watershed is one of many rural watersheds included in the Texas Water Quality Inventory and 303(d) List as an impaired water body due to excessive E. coli levels. In many cases the assessed data in these waterbodies is limited and information regarding potential sources of pollution or other factors that may influence the presence of pollutant sources is not readily available.

To address this need, a comprehensive geographic information system (GIS) inventory of the watershed will be developed and will integrate numerous existing information resources into a single location. Generally, the GIS will illustrate waterbodies, roadways, permitted point-source dischargers, and other points of concern. Additionally, current land use/land cover (LULC) maps for the watershed will be updated. Existing LULC layers will be utilized as a starting point and will be re-delineated utilizing groundtruthed data points collected for the GIS inventory to verify the accuracy of the LULC map. Through the development of the GIS and update of the LULC maps, a physical source survey will also be conducted across the watershed to document the primary sources of bacteria in the watershed.