Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL)

NEW! The Bacteria Implementation Group (BIG), is meeting to develop a plan to reduce bacteria levels identified in TMDLs for the region.
Next Meeting: December 16, 2008.

NEW! On November 10, 2008, Dr. Hanadi Rifai and Dr. Robin Brinkmeyer presented information regarding their research on Best Management Practices and Bacteria Population Dynamics, respectively. Copies of their presentations are now available.

What is TMDL?

Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) is like a budget for pollution. The Clean Water Act and the EPA require that all states identify water bodies that do not meet, or are not expected to meet, applicable water quality standards for designated uses. These water bodies are listed and prioritized in order to schedule TMDL development.

A TMDL study is a technical analysis that determines maximum loadings of a pollutant of concern that a water body can receive and still meet water quality standards and allocates this allowable loading to point and nonpoint pollutant sources in the watershed.

Visit the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TMDL) website to learn more about TMDLs.

Get Involved!

H-GAC hosts open houses and public meetings to let people know about and participate in specific TMDL projects in the region. Local perspectives and involvement are a key part of any TMDL.

The projects:
— The Bacteria Implementation Group: Developing a plan to reduce bacteria  levels
     in our waterways
— Buffalo and Whiteoak Bayous: A TMDL Project for Bacteria
— Clear Creek: A TMDL Project for Bacteria
— Lake Houston: A TMDL Project for Bacteria
— Houston Metropolitan Area: A TMDL Project for Bacteria
— Houston Ship Channel & Upper Galveston Bay: TMDL Projects for Dioxin
     and Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) in Fish Tissue

TMDL Projects in the Region
(These links will direct you to the TCEQ website)

Buffalo and Whiteoak Bayous: Bacteria
Houston Ship Channel: Dioxin & PCB
Clear Creek: Bacteria
Houston Metropolitan Area: Bacteria
Lake Houston: Bacteria
Upper Coast Oyster Waters: Bacteria
Upper Oyster Creek: Bacteria & Dissolved Oxygen
Dickinson Bayou:  Bacteria
Gulf Coastal Waters:  Evaluating the Safety of Oyster Harvesting in 14 Bays
Clear Creek Above Tidal: Total Dissolved Solids and Chloride (completed)
Clear Creek: Volatile Organic Compounds (completed)
Clear Creek: Chlordane (completed)
Houston Ship Channel: Nickel (completed)
Dickinson Bayou: Dissolved Oxygen (completed)

Visit the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality TMDL website to learn more about TMDLs.