Counties: Refugio, San
Patricio (Phase II); Jackson, Matagorda, Orange, Victoria (Phase
I)
Parameter: Dissolved oxygen
River Basins: San Antonio-Nueces Coastal Basin
(Phase II); Bays and Estuaries, Sabine River, Colorado-Lavaca
Coastal (Phase I)
Segments: 2001, 2003 (Phase II); 0511, 1501, 2453A
(Phase I)
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Aransas River Tidal
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Background
and Goals
Tidal streams are highly productive transitional areas between
the freshwater of the rivers and the salt water of the bays. Tidal
streams serve as nurseries for many fish and shellfish, including
many important commercial and recreational species. Routine
monitoring of several tidal streams have revealed dissolved oxygen
measurements which are not meeting state water quality standards.
Dissolved oxygen is essential to the survival of fish and other
aquatic life. Water quality management of these streams has been
difficult because prior studies on these streams have led to
questions concerning the appropriateness of current dissolved
oxygen standards, and these systems are naturally quite variable
over space and time.
Phase I of this project, completed in 2007, focused on the tidal
portions of three streams—Cow Bayou (Segment 0511) on the
upper Texas coast, and Tres Palacios Creek Tidal (Segment 1501) and
Garcitas Creek Tidal (Segment 2453a) on the middle coast. Water
quality testing had found that levels of dissolved oxygen were
occasionally low in these tidal streams. At present, no generally
accepted method exists for determining the health of aquatic
communities in tidal streams. This project was planned to aid in
developing such a methodology, studying the biological, chemical,
and physical characteristics of the streams in question.
Results and lessons learned during Phase I of the project will
now be applied to the study of additional tidal streams along the
Texas coast. For Phase II of the project, new data will be
collected on the tidal portions of two streams—Mission River
Tidal (Segment 2001) and Aransas River Tidal (Segment 2003). In
addition, the statistical methods employed in assessing these water
bodies will also be applied to at least seven existing data sets
from other tidal streams in Texas.
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Phase II Information
Project Documents
The following documents are available as PDF files. (Help with
PDF.)
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Phase I Information
Project Status
The project manager submitted a final reports in the spring of
2007. The reports are being reviewed by staff of the TCEQ’s
Water Quality Standards program to determine if additional analysis
is warranted. For information about the status of the project,
contact Gregg Easley at 512/239-4539.
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Project Documents
The following documents are available as PDF files. (Help with
PDF.)
- Cow Bayou Tidal Final
Report
- Tres Palacios Creek Tidal and
Garcitas Creek Tidal Final Report
-
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For More Information
For technical information regarding the project, please contact
Jason Leifester at 512/239-6457. Or e-mail us at tmdl@tceq.state.tx.us, and
reference the Tidal Streams Uses project in the subject line.
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