Cotton Bayou Water ersh shed ed Charact acter erizatio zation - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Cotton Bayou Water ersh shed ed Charact acter erizatio zation

Webinar April 28, 2020

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Meeti ting ng Outli line

▪ Introductions ▪ Watershed Overview ▪ Project Purpose and Methods ▪ Preliminary Findings ▪ Next Steps ▪ Discussion

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Who We Are

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) lead state environmental management agency Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) regional council of governments

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What We Do

We work to improve surface water quality concerns in regional water bodies by using sound scientific practices and local knowledge to identify sources of pollution and develop effective reduction strategies.

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Water ershe shed Overv rview iew

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Water ersh shed ed Ar Area

▪ 16 square mile area ▪ 47 miles of stream network

• Main tributary is

Hackberry Gully

▪ Overlaps jurisdictions

• f Mont Belvieu, Old

River-Winfree, Cove, Baytown, and Beach City ▪ Population estimate ~3,300

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Elevatio tion

▪ Relatively flat,17 meters (56 feet) of elevation ▪ Stream flows less likely to be driven by natural elevation change ▪ Channelization and other modifications may be more influential

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Developed areas forecasted to expand

Land Co Cover

Current Land Cover Percentages

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Undeveloped: 54.6% → 35.2% Residential: 30.3% → 43.0% Multiple: 6.1% → 12.1% Commercial: 2.0% → 2.6%

Land Us Use

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Water er Quality ty

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Why Water er Quali lity y Matters ers

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Surfa rface e Water ter Uses

▪ Agricultural ▪ Municipal ▪ Industrial ▪ Recreational ▪ Natural

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Determ ermin inin ing Water ter Qual ality ity

▪ Statewide monitoring conducted to observe compliance with water quality standards for different uses (recreation, aquatic life, etc.) ▪ TCEQ produces integrated report of results every two years ▪ Waterways exceeding standards are impai aired ed

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Status tus of Cotton n Bayou you

▪ Impai aired red for aquatic life use and contact recreation

• Low oxygen levels
• High bacteria concentrations

▪ This project will focus on characterizing sources of bacteria in Cotton Bayou

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Bacteria cteria Sources rces

▪ Human n Waste te

• Wastewater
• Septic/Aerobic Systems
• Illicit Sewage
• Dumping

▪ Domestic c Animal mal Waste te

• Pets
• Livestock

▪ Waste te from

• m Wildlife

fe

• Mammals (deer, feral hogs, etc.)
• Birds

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Other er Chal allen lenges es

▪ Sediment

• Changes hydrology and flooding
• Impacts aquatic life

▪ Trash ash/D /Dump mping

• Introduces pollutants
• Impacts hydrology and habitat

▪ Invasi asives es

• Plants and animals that can impact

hydrology and water quality ▪ Growth

• Increase in contaminant sources
• Decrease in open space

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Water ershe shed d Characte acteri rization zation Report rt

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Report t Purpose se

▪ Describes water quality and pollutant sources impacting water quality in the watershed ▪ Preliminary step in determining a Total al Maximum imum Daily ly Load d (TMDL) ) for a water body ▪ Sound science and stakeholder knowledge combine to create roadmap for improvement

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Monit itor

• rin

ing in the Waters ershed hed

▪ 2 active stations monitored quarterly for Enterococci levels ▪ Upstream station 18696 at FM 565 near Cove ▪ Downstream station 18697 at confluence with Cotton Lake

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Chara aracteri cterizin ing Impairment irments

▪ Results of Cotton Bayou monitoring data show high levels of fecal indicator bacteria, Enterococci ▪ How do Enterococci concentrations in Cotton Bayou compare to state water quality standards?

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cfu per 100 mL (Log Scale)

Geomean SWQS (35 cfu/100 mL) Single Sample SWQS (130 cfu/100 mL) Annual Geomean of Enterococci Measured Enterococci Measured

Bacteria teria Levels vels (18696, , upstrea tream) m)

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cfu per 100 mL (Log Scale)

Geomean SWQS (35 cfu/100 mL) Single Sample SWQS (130 cfu/100 mL) Annual Geomean of Enterococci Measured Enterococci Measured

Bacteria teria Levels vels (18697, 8697, downst wnstrea ream) m)

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Stream eamflow low and Poll lluta tant nt Loads ds

▪ Comparing observed pollutant levels to corresponding stream flow conditions can help us estimate sources of impairment ▪ A flow duration curve (FDC) represents daily flows ranked by magnitude

• Ranked flows converted to percent of the study

period that flows of each successive magnitude were exceeded

Point Source Non-Point Source

Pollutant Flow Pollutant Flow

Low High Magnitude High Low % Time Exceeded

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Stream eamflow low and Poll lluta tant nt Loads ds

▪ Comparing observed pollutant levels to corresponding stream flow conditions can help us estimate sources of impairment ▪ A flow duration curve (FDC) represents daily flows ranked by magnitude

• Ranked flows converted to percent of the study

period that flows of each successive magnitude were exceeded

Point Source Non-Point Source

Pollutant Flow Pollutant Flow

Low High Magnitude High Low % Time Exceeded Low High Flow

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Load ad Durat ation ion Curves ves (LDCs) DCs)

▪ FDCs can be used to calculate the maximum pollutant load in compliance with the standard at different rates of flow ▪ Comparing a curve modeled from

• bserved pollutant levels to the

standard curve can help us estimate reductions needed for compliance

Standard

=

FDC

*

Water Quality Standard Low High Pollutant Low High Flow Pollutant Load Standard Reduction Needed

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LDC C Assessment sessment (18696, , upstream) tream)

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LDC C Assessmen sessment (1869 8697, 7, downstream wnstream)

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Anal alys ysis is Summary ary

▪ Enterococci levels in Cotton Bayou frequently exceed the surface water quality standard

• Station 18696 (upstream) consistently higher than 18697 (downstream)

▪ LDC for 18696 suggests significant reductions are needed to meet the standard for all flow conditions ▪ LDC for 18697 suggests standard is being met in low flow conditions but surface water is increasingly impaired by increasing levels of flow ▪ These results indicate:

• Impairment upstream is complex and may result from a combination of point

and non-point source pressures

• Impairment downstream is more likely affected by non-point sources during

high flow events

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Potential Source Means of Measurement Contribution? Minor Moderate Major Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSOs)

• SSO reports
• Discharge Monitoring Reports

Onsite Sewage Facilities (OSSFs)

• Permitted OSSF database
• Presence of houses outside service areas

Domestic Pets

• Based on literature value and actual

households (1.6 dogs /dog-owning household) Livestock

• USDA data
• Stakeholder feedback

Feral Hogs

• Literature values
• Stakeholder feedback

Other Wildlife

• Literature values
• Anecdotal

Landfills

• Regulatory compliance
• Stakeholder feedback

Illegal Dumping

• Anecdotal

Potentia ntial l Sources rces

Please keep these classifications in mind

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Discharge Monitoring Report Data, 2011-2019

Parameter Enterococci

• E. coli

Geomean Standard 35 cfu/100 mL 126 cfu/100 mL Single Sample Standard 104 cfu/100 mL 399 cfu/100 mL Samples 29 285 Percent Exceedance – Geomean 0% 8% Percent Exceedance – Single Sample 0% 22%

Wastew tewater ater Treat eatment ment

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Onsite ite Sewa wage e Faci cilities lities

▪ 212 permitted OSSFs ▪ H-GAC estimates additional 143 units for a total of 355 ▪ Assuming 10-15% failure rate, 36 to 54 OSSFs are projected to be failing

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Dog Ownership nership Estimates imates

Statistic 2018 Total Households 1,182 Dog Owning Households 454 Dogs 726

How is dog waste managed in your watershed? ▪ The American Veterinary Medical Association estimates 38.4% of all households are dog owning households ▪ 1.6 dogs are estimated per dog owning household

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Lives estoc tock k Estimat imates es

Estimates based on the United States Department of Agriculture 2017 Agricultural Census for Chambers County adjusted for percentage of watershed area

Farms Cattle Pigs/Hogs Sheep Goats Poultry Horses 14 608 2 12 14 33 21

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Wildl ldlife ife and d Fera ral l Hog g Estim imat ates es

▪ The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department estimates one deer per 40.2 acres ▪ Feral hog populations vary depending on land cover type:

• ~1.3 per square mile in low

intensity development

• ~2 per square mile in

developed open space, bare land and cultivated land

• ~2.45 per square mile in

grasslands, forests and wetlands

• no hogs in developed areas or
• pen water

Animal Population Deer 258 Feral Hogs 31

Others? (birds, etc.)

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Next xt Step eps

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TMDL Timeli eline

Identify Water Quality Issues Receive & Incorporate Feedback Determine TMDL Identify Reduction Strategies Develop Implementation Plan Implement!

You Are Here

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Partic ticipat ipation ion Opportun unitie ities

▪ Attend meetings ▪ Share your knowledge ▪ Give us your feedback ▪ Help us coordinate with local efforts

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Short rt Term m Goals ls

▪ Refine technical information, receive your insight and feedback ▪ One-on-one meetings with stakeholders ▪ Final Watershed Characterization Report completed by summer 2020

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Discussi scussion

• n and

Quest stion ions

For more information, please contact: Rachel Windham 713-993-2497 rachel.windham@h-gac.com 3555 Timmons Lane Suite 120 Houston, TX 77027

This project is funded by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and facilitated locally by the Houston-Galveston Area Council.

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Supplement lemental al Slides es

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Waters ershed hed Delin linea eation tion

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Mana nagem gement nt Dist stric icts s and d MUDs UDs

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Water er Qual ality ity

Station Number of Enterococci Samples Maximum Value (cfu/100 mL) Geomean of All Samples (cfu/100 mL) % in Violation 18696 42 24,000 247.5 90.5% 18697 47 24,192 105.9 63.8% Station Violations of Criteria/Screening Levels by Parameter (number and percent of total samples) Nitrogen Total Phosphorous DO (grab, minimum) DO (grab, screening level) 18696 42 (84.0%) 34 (75.6%) 6 (11.5%) 8 (15.4%) 18697 10 (19.2%) 3 (6.5%) 5 (8.6%) 12 (20.7%)