Watershed Counties: Collin, Dallas, Denton,
Ellis, Henderson, Kaufman, Navarro, Tarrant
Parameter: Bacteria
River Basin: Trinity River
Segments: 0805, 0806, 0822, 0841
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Lower West Fork
Trinity River
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Background and
Goals
Bacteria concentrations are occasionally elevated in four
segments of the Trinity River that flow through the densely
populated Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area and rural areas to
the southeast. High concentrations of bacteria may pose a risk to
people who swim or wade in them—activities called
“contact recreation” in the state's standards for water
quality.
The affected segments are the Upper Trinity River (Segment
0805), the Lower West Fork Trinity River (Segment 0841), the Elm
Fork Trinity River Below Lewisville Lake (segment 0822), and the
West Fork Trinity River Below Lake Worth (Segment 0806). These four
segments flow 190 miles through seven counties; their watersheds
cover approximately 1,650 square miles. To varying degrees, the
segments in the entire project area are affected by municipal and
industrial wastewater discharges, and by stormwater runoff from
agricultural, industrial, and urban areas.
The goal of this project is to reduce bacteria concentrations to
within acceptable risk levels for contact recreation by developing
total maximum daily loads. A TMDL is like a budget for
pollutants—it estimates the amount of a pollutant that a
water body can receive and still support its designated uses. The
load is then allocated among the sources of pollution within the
watershed, and measures to reduce pollutant loads are developed as
necessary. A TMDL is part of the state's Water Quality Management
Plan after it is adopted by the commission and approved by the
United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
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Public Participation
Project personnel are involving the public in project
development through public meetings and notices in print and
electronic media. Meetings about TMDL projects are open to
everyone.
No meetings are scheduled at this time.
Meeting Summaries
The documents below are provided as PDF files. (Help with PDF.)
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Project Documents
The documents below are provided as PDF files. (Help with PDF.)
- Final Draft - Technical Support Document Segments 0806, 0841,
0822, 0805
- Bacterial Source Tracking
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For More Information
For more information regarding the project, please contact Dania
Grundmann at 512/239-3449. Or e-mail us at tmdl@tceq.state.tx.us, and
reference the Trinity River Bacteria project in the subject
line.
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