Houston Metropolitan Area: A TMDL Project for Bacteria
Background—Meetings—Additional Information—Contact
The Bacteria Implementation Group is developing an Implementation Plan for this and three other bacteria TMDL projects.
Background
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has determined that several watersheds within the Houston Metropolitan Area sometimes have bacteria levels that are higher than state standards for contact recreation.
The State of Texas requires that water quality in the Lake Houston watershed be suitable for swimming, wading, fishing, and aquatic life. Swimming and wading is called contact recreation in the state’s standards for water quality, referring to all recreation in which people come in direct contact with the water. People who swim or wade in the bayous may be at risk because of high level of bacteria. Bacteria from human and animal waste often indicate the presence of disease-causing microorganisms, which pose a threat to public health.
In response to the elevated bacteria levels in the bayous, the TCEQ initiated a total maximum daily load (TMDL) project to determine the measures necessary to support recreational uses in these water bodies. The goal of a TMDL is to determine the amount (or load) of a pollutant that a body of water can receive and still support its designated uses. The load is then allocated among all the potential sources of pollution within the watershed, and measures to reduce pollutant loads are developed as necessary.
The TMDL document for the Greens Bayou watershed was adopted by the TCEQ on June 2, 2010, and approved by the EPA on August 12, 2010. The TMDL documents for Brays, Sims, and Halls Bayous and Eastern Houston Waterways were adopted by the TCEQ on September 15, 2010, and approved by the EPA on September 27, 2010. The documents are available on the TCEQ's project website: http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/implementation/water/tmdl/72-houstonbacteria.html.
Meetings
The focus of the Houston Metro TMDL projects is now on developing an implementation plan. The Bacteria Implementation Group (BIG) is the committee responsible for developing the plan. Please visit the BIG webpage for more information and to learn how to be involved.
Past Meetings
2008 November 12 (Eastern Houston): Presentation (PDF) 4M
2008 November 11 (Brays): Presentation (PDF) 3M
2008 November 10 (Halls): Presentation (PDF) 3M
2008 November 6 (Greens Bayou): Presentation (PDF) 3M
2008 November 5 (Sims Bayou): Presentation (PDF) 3M
2007 November 5 (Hunting & Halls): Agenda (PDF) 154K
2007 November 2 (Brays): Agenda (PDF) 154K | Presentation (PDF) 3.4M
2007 October 22 (Sims): Agenda (PDF) 154K | Presentation (PDF) 3.4M
2007 October 19 (Greens & Halls): Agenda (PDF) 154K | Presentation (PDF) 3.4M
2007 October 18 (Eastern Houston): Agenda (PDF) 154K | Presentation (PDF) 3.4M
2007 October 17 (Eastern Houston): Agenda (PDF) 154K | Presentation (PDF) 3.4M
2007 October 16 (Brays): Agenda (PDF) 154K | Presentation (PDF) 3.4M
Links and Additional Information
The TCEQ maintains a webpage for the Houston Metro TMDL Project: www.tceq.state.tx.us/implementation/water/tmdl/72-houstonbacteria.html
Contact
For more information contact:
Rachel Powers
(713) 993-4559
Rachel.Powers@h-gac.com
Last updated: July 14, 2011