Copano Bay, Mission River Tidal, and Aransas River Tidal: A Project to Improve the Safety of Oyster Harvesting and Swimming
Photo by Texas AgriLife
Watershed Counties: Aransas, Bee, Golidad, Refugio, and San Patricio
Parameter: Bacteria in Oyster Waters and Tidal Streams
River Basin: Bays and Estuaries, San Antonio-Nueces Coastal
Segment: 2472, 2001, 2003d
- Project Overview (PDF)
- Background and Goals
- Status
- Public Participation
- Project Reports
- For More Information
Background, Goals, and Status
The Texas Department of State Health Services has closed portions of Copano Bay to oyster harvesting due to high concentrations of bacteria. In addition, a TCEQ assessment in 2004 found that the tidal segments of the Mission and Aransas rivers are not suitable for swimming and some other water-sport activities referred to as “contact recreation” in the state’s standards for surface water quality—due to elevated bacteria concentrations.
Bacteria from human and animal waste may indicate the presence of disease-causing microorganisms that pose a threat to public health. Bacteria from the water can contaminate oysters and other shellfish, making them unsafe to eat, especially when shellfish are eaten raw. It can also pose a threat to people who swim or engage in other forms of contact recreation in affected water bodies.
The goal of this project is to reduce bacteria concentrations to levels that make it safer to harvest and eat oysters from the bay and engage in contact recreation in the tidal segments of the Mission and Aransas Rivers.
Return to topStatus
The state and its partners collected and analyzed extensive amounts of data from the project watersheds from 2004 through 2010. Because of stakeholder concerns with the analyses, TMDL development is on hold until the TCEQ and the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board (TSSWCB), together with stakeholders, determine the appropriate next steps for reducing bacteria concentrations in the affected segments.
See the Texas Water Resources Institute website for the Copano Bay Water Quality Education Project 
for information about educational programs and demonstrations they provide for land and livestock owners. The programs and demonstrations are designed to increase awareness of water quality issues and best management practices that can decrease or prevent bacteria from entering waterways.
Public Participation
In all its projects, the TCEQ seeks to gather opinion and information from people who represent government, permitted facilities, agriculture, business, environmental, and community and private interests in the watershed. Project personnel are informing the public about this project through a series of public meetings and in print and electronic media. The Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI) is coordinating public participation in this project.
Next Meeting
Meetings about TMDL projects are open to everyone.
Meeting Summaries and Presentations
Meeting summaries and presentations are in PDF.
- December 2007
- June 2006
- Meeting Summary
- Presentation: Introduction to Microorganisms
- Presentation: Nueces River Authority Proposed Copano Bay TMDL Monitoring
- Presentation: Copano Bay Watershed Historical Data Review
- Presentation: Copano Bay Watershed Historical Data Review Part 2
- Presentation: Overview of the Implementation Plan Process for Copano Bay TMDL
- April 2006
- February 2006
- November 2005
Project Reports
For More Information
Please e-mail us at tmdl@tceq.texas.gov, and reference the Copano Bay project in the title. Or call Roger Miranda at 512-239-6874. For more information about activities related to agriculture for this project, please e-mail Aaron Wendt or call him at 254-773-2250.
