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RIVERS AND STREAMS:
ASSESSMENT AND IMPAIRMENT, 1997-2002
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Source: EPA, National Water Quality Inventory, 1998
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Texas has approximately 191,228 miles of streams and rivers, of which 40,194 miles (21 percent) are
considered perennial (having sustained flow throughout the year); nearly 6.5 million acres of inland wetlands and 1.7 million acres of coastal wetlands; more than
three million acres of reservoirs and lakes, including 211 major reservoirs greater than 5,000 acre-feet that encompass 1,994,600 surface acres; 2,394 square
miles of bays and estuaries; and 3,879 square miles of open gulf water along its 624 miles of coastal shoreline. Unfortunately, monitoring water quality is a complex
and difficult task, and Texas has not dedicated the needed resources to adequately monitor surface water quality or to monitor the health of the fish that roam these waters, although monitoring has improved since the mid-1990s. A unique challenge has been assuring
adequate water quality along the Texas-Mexico border, although pollution in water bodies occurs throughout the state.
All of these waters are afforded at least minimal
amounts of protection by the state and federal governments by three different types of water quality standards:*
- stream standards, also referred to as surface water quality standards;
- effluent standards (set for wastewaters); and
- drinking water standards, which also cover
groundwater used as a public water supply.
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LAKES AND RESERVOIRS:
ASSESSMENT AND IMPAIRMENT
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Source: EPA, National Water Quality Inventory, 1998
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Along with Congress and federal water quality legislation like the Clean Water Act, the Texas
legislature has recognized the need to protect water quality. In 1991 the legislature adopted a policy of "no net loss" of state-owned wetlands and authorized a
state wetlands conservation management plan. Also in 1991 the legislature adopted the Clean Rivers Act, which directed the river authorities to conduct a
regional assessment of water quality for each major river basin, with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality overseeing the effort.
The Clean River Act supported the TCEQ's overall efforts to move water pollution management to a
river basin or "watershed" approach. For example, the TCEQ has rewritten its rules to require that all permit renewals pertaining to a given river basin be
considered in the same year. In this way, the TCEQ can take a river-basin-by-river-basin approach and better ensure that water quantity and quality are being maintained in the whole watershed.*
Today, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is the primary agency responsible for water quality
management in Texas, although it shares the responsibility with other state agencies such as the Texas Parks and
Wildlife Department, the General Land Office and the Railroad Commission of Texas. The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency is ultimately responsible for keeping tabs on these efforts to make sure they meet federal standards.
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USE SUPPORT SUMMARY FOR SURVEYED STREAMS AND RIVERS, 2002
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USE
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TOTAL MILES SURVE YED
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MEET USE
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IMPAIRED
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NOT ASSESSED/ INSUFFICIEN T DATA
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All Uses
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20,286
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14,007
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3,568
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2,711
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Aquatic Life Support
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20,286
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10,910
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454
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8,922
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Contact Recreation
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20,199
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7,010
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2,214
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10,976
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Noncontact Recreation
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27
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24
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0
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3
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Public Water Supply
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8,780
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8,780
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0
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0
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Fish Consumption
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20,286
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1,765
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287
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18,234
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General Uses
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14,238
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12,930
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825
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483
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Source: TCEQ, Draft 2002 Texas Water Quality Inventory and 303D List, 2002.
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Pollution has to some degree impacted all of Texas's 15 inland river basins and 8 coastal basins, several
of its reservoirs, and all of its estuaries, coastal wetlands, and bays.* According to the TCEQ's draft
2002 Water Quality Inventory submitted to the EPA some 80 percent of the number of river miles assessed fully supported the uses for which they were designated by the state.*
In general, overall river and stream water quality improved slightly between 1996 and 2002, as the
number of miles not meeting their designated water quality uses fell from 4,290 to 3,568 miles.* Of the
3,568 miles of rivers and streams that did not fully meet their designated use in the 2002 report, about 2,215 miles did not meet safe swimming ("contact
recreation") conditions, 455 miles did not meet standards for aquatic life, some 285 miles had fish consumption bans or advisories,and some 825 miles
did not meet "general uses" due to high amounts of total dissolved solids and/or choride. It is important
to note, however, that many miles of streams and rivers did not have sufficient data to determine if they met state
water quality standards, and in fact, TCEQ identified hundreds of miles of streams and rivers with water quality
"concerns" but with insufficient data to meet their methodology for calling a stream or river "impaired." This was particularly true for aquatic life concerns.*
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USE SUPPORT SUMMARY FOR SURVEYED RESERVOIRS, 2002
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USE
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TOTAL ACRES SURVEYED
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MEET
USE
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IMPAIRED
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NOT ASSESSED
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All Uses
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1,586,851
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1,101,850
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472,221
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12,780
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Aquatic Life Support
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1,586,851
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656,458
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13,397
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916,996
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Contact Recreation
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1,586,327
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407,324
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0
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1,179,003
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Public Water Supply
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1,532,153
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1,532,153
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0
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0
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Fish Consumption
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1,586,851
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249,429
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374,144
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963,278
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General Use
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1,552,827
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1,254,467
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94,422
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1,088,784
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Source: TCEQ, Draft 2002 Texas Water Quality Inventory and 303D List, 2002.
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Between 1994 and 2002, overall use support in reservoirs declined from 98 to 70 percent,
indicating a substantial decline in reservoir water quality. The decline in overall use support was caused by mercury deposition in reservoirs from
atmospheric deposition, higher levels of dissolved oxygen, higher levels of metals and organic substances, and either high or low levels of Ph,
elevated levels of chloride and high levels of total dissolved solids. The issuance of consumption advisories and aquatic life closures by the Texas
Department of Health -- several of which were related to mercury deposition -- increased the number of reservoirs determined to yield fish that could not be safely consumed. More than
360,000 acres of reservoirs were covered by fish-consumption advisories, while some 12,000 acres of reservoirs were also determined to yield fish unsafe for consumption and were subject to
aquatic life closures.*
In addition, several reservoirs did not meet "general uses" intended to assure water quality. For example, six reservoirs
and lakes had either high or low pH values, elevated average chloride concentrations affected the "general uses" of two
reservoirs and high levels of total dissolved solids caused nonsupport in two other reservoirs.(TCEQ, Draft 2002 Texas Water Quality Inventory and 303D List, September 2002, Table 9-4)*It is also important to note that there were
significant gaps in assessments, particularly of aquatic life support and contact recreation, and in fact, the TCEQ
identified thousands of acres of reservoirs with aquatic life and contact recreation "concerns" but with insufficient data to meet their methodology for calling a reservoir "impaired."
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