Counties: Calhoun,
Jackson, Victoria
Parameters: Mercury in water, dissolved
oxygen
River and Coastal Basins: Bays and Estuaries,
Lavaca River, Lavaca-Guadalupe Coastal Basin
Segment: 2453
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Lavaca Bay
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Project Goals and Status
Lavaca Bay and Chocolate Bay, both included in Segment 2453, are
part of the larger Matagorda Bay System located on the Texas Gulf
Coast. Together these bays comprise 54.8 square miles. In both
bays, water quality testing indicated that dissolved-oxygen
concentrations and elevated mercury concentrations in the bays were
not optimal for supporting aquatic life. People are advised to
limit their consumption of fish and crabs from the bays because
mercury concentrations in fish and crab tissue pose a risk to
consumers. Oyster harvesting is restricted because of elevated
bacteria concentrations.
This project addressed the concentrations of mercury and
dissolved oxygen in the bays. Mercury, a metal, accumulates in the
tissue of aquatic species and is toxic if consumed in large
quantities over an extended period of time. Oxygen, which dissolves
in water, is essential for the survival of aquatic life. While the
amount of dissolved oxygen in water fluctuates naturally, various
human activities can cause unusually or chronically low dissolved
oxygen levels, which may harm fish and other aquatic organisms.
Sampling results for dissolved oxygen and mercury in water
indicated that TDMLs are not necessary for those parameters. Based
on those results, the TCEQ removed dissolved oxygen and mercury in
water from the list of impairments for Lavaca Bay and Chocolate Bay
in the Texas Water Quality Inventory and 303d List. Mercury in fish
and crab tissue is being addressed by the Superfund Program. For
more detailed project results, see the
Project Overview (PDF) (help with PDF)
or the final reports in the Project
Documents section.
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Project Documents
Several documents may be developed in the course of a TMDL
project. As project documents become available, they are provided
here.
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Contact Information
For additional information regarding these committees, please
contact Gail Rothe at 512/239-4617. Or e-mail us at tmdl@tceq.state.tx.us and
reference the Lavaca Bay assessment project in the subject
line.
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