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RIVERS, STREAMS, RESRVOIRS AND BAYS
IDENTIFIED AS HAVING BEEN IMPACTED
BY NON-POINT-SOURCE POLLUTION
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Source: TCEQ, Clean Water for Texas: Working Together for Water
Quality, 2003,
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Apart from point-source discharges, toxics and other pollutants can enter surface water through urban and
agricultural runoff, seepage from landfills and hazardous waste facilities, spills on land or water, and seepage from underground injection sites. Everyday
activities like landscape maintenance and building construction can directly lead to contamination of water bodies through runoff during rain events. Air toxics
from a variety of sources can also fall directly to water bodies, or be deposited on the ground, potentially entering surface and ground water when rainfall runoff
occurs. The impact of non-point-source pollution on water quality is significant: the EPA recently estimated that non-point-source pollution accounts for 65 percent
of pollution in rivers, 76 percent in lakes, and 45 percent in estuaries in the United States.*
The 1987 amendments to the Water Quality Act were the first comprehensive attempt by the federal
government to control non-point-source pollution from urban streets and sewers as well as from agricultural activities. Section 319 of the Act requires states to
conduct an assessment of waters contaminated by non-point-source pollution and to devise best
management pollution-abatement plans to help clean up these waters. The law also provides the states funding for up
to 60 percent of the cost of implementing these plans. In Texas, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is the
lead organization in this effort, although the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board (TSSWCB) also
participates on agriculture and silviculture activities. The last assessment in Texas was done in 1999. The amount of
federal monies flowing to Texas under the Section 319(h) program is relatively small, averaging a little over $2 million per year.*
In addition to this federal money, the state has supported some pilot projects to control non-point-source pollution
through fees established as part of the Clean Rivers Program. Finally, some local governments as well as river
authorities have adopted their own non-point-source pollution abatement programs using either federal or local dollars.
According to the TCEQ, nonpoint sources contributed to pollution in 220 of 238 water bodies -- or 92 percent --
identifed in 2000 as being impaired.* Despite these documented effects on Texas rivers, lakes, and streams, pollution
abatement and management plans have not been implemented in most areas in Texas. Part of the difficulty lies in
identifying the sources of pollution that affect water quality. One of the major purposes of the state's 1991 Clean Rivers
Act—which requires river authorities to assess the water quality of their river basins—is to establish better data
regarding non-point-source causes and impacts. The TCEQ is currently coordinating its Non-Point Source Assessment
activities through the Clean River Program with the goal of producing the Water Quality Inventory, NPS Assessment and 303(d) List of Impaired Water Bodies in the same year.*
Examples of non-point-source pollution control programs in Texas
Federally Funded Projects
- The federal government has funded a demonstration project in the Lower Rio Grande Valley to manage nutrient
application to agricultural lands and to use an integrated pest management program in certain agricultural
activities. These techniques are being tested for their effectiveness in limiting nutrient and pesticide loadings into the nearby Arroyo Colorado.
- The federal government has also partially funded a "Composted Manure Incentive Project" in the North Bosque
and Leon River watersheds to help reduce and transport manure from dairy farms to compost facilities and
therefore limit discharge and runoff of animal wastes. This project is jointly managed with the State Soil
Conservation Board and TCEQ and provides rebates to customers of compost as well as a remibursement for
hauling the waste out of the watershed. In addition, water monitoring is helping to track improvements attributable to the removal of the waste.*
State-Funded Project
- Through the Clean Rivers Program, the TNRCC developed a comprehensive water quality assessment of the
Bosque River-Lake Waco watershed. Under this study, the Institute of Applied Environmental Research at
Tarleton State University and the Brazos River Authority have implemented a water quality sampling program to
characterize pollution loadings from watersheds dominated by dairy farms, urban storm-water runoff, loadings from septic tanks, and wastewater treatment plant discharges.*
- Through the Coastal Bend Bays and Estuary Program, the state is partnering with the King Ranch in South Texas
and the University of Texas to examine the relationship between agricultural loading and Brown Tide events
which have impacted the Laguna Madre estuary system since 1990. Both total loading of nutrients, pesticides
and other pollutants to the bays, as well as their impact on brown tide are being examined.*
Local Pollution Abatement Program
- Under state regulations, municipalities have the authority to adopt ordinances designed to protect water quality.
- The City of Austin has adopted an ordinance designed to prevent development from affecting stream water
quality in the sensitive Barton Springs watershed. The controversial ordinance, which was passed by voters in
1992, limits impervious cover—the percentage of land covered by pavement or buildings—in any new
development along the watershed of Austin's streams and creeks. Impervious cover cannot exceed 15 percent in
the recharge zone of Barton Springs and 25 percent in the Barton Springs-Edwards Aquifer contributing zone, which feeds into Barton Springs.*
- In San Antonio, where the Edwards Aquifer is currently the sole source of water, a water quality ordinance
expands zoning authority within city limits. New construction over the Edwards Aquifer must receive the review
and approval of the TCEQ prior to the start of any construction. The water quality ordinance also places limits on
impervious cover in areas of the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction that are located above the aquifer.
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