Lake Houston Watersheds: A TMDL Project for Bacteria
Photo courtesy of the City of Houston
Counties: Grimes, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, San Jacinto, Walker, Waller
Parameter: Bacteria
Basin: San Jacinto River
Segment: 1004E, 1008, 1008H, 1009, 1009C, 1009D, 1009E, 1010, 1011
- Project Overview
- Background and Goals
- Adopted TMDLs
- Implementation Plan
- Public Participation
- Support Documents
- For More Information
Background and Goals
Bacteria levels are sometimes elevated in nine stream segments upstream of Lake Houston in the Houston metropolitan area. High concentrations of bacteria may pose a health risk to people who swim or wade in them—activities called “contact recreation” in the state’s standards for water quality; the term refers to all recreation in which people come in direct contact with the water.
The affected stream segments are Stewarts Creek (Segment 1004E), Spring Creek (Segment 1008), Willow Creek (Segment 1008H), Cypress Creek (Segment 1009), Faulkey Gully (Segment 1009C), Spring Gully (Segment 1009D), and Little Cypress Creek (Segment 1009E).
The goal of this project is to reduce bacteria concentrations to within acceptable risk levels for contact recreation by developing total maximum daily loads. The TMDLs for this project are being coordinated with other projects to reduce bacteria in Houston area streams and the Galveston Bay system (see “Related Links”).
The TCEQ is working with the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) 
to coordinate public participation and develop a plan to reduce bacteria concentrations in 12 watersheds in the Houston area, including the projects for Buffalo and Whiteoak Bayous, Clear Creek, the Houston Metropolitan Area, and this project.
Return to topAdopted TMDLs
On April 6, 2011, the commission adopted the TMDLs for the Lake Houston watersheds.
- Fifteen TMDLs for Indicator Bacteria in Watersheds of the Lake Houston Area
For Segments 1004E, 1008, 1008H, 1009, 1009C, 1009D, 1009E, 1010, and 1011
On June 29, 2011, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved the TMDLs, at which time they became part of the state's Water Quality Management Plan.
Updates to TMDLs
From time to time, it is necessary to revise TMDLs to account for changing conditions in the watershed, such as new or amended permits, or urban growth, or to correct oversights in the original TMDL report. Revisions to the load allocations in TMDLs are made via the state’s WQMP, which is updated quarterly.
The WQMP provides projected effluent limits for use in planning and permitting activities under the Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (TPDES). The TCEQ reviews all applications for new and amended permits for conformance with applicable portions of the WQMP, including adopted TMDLs.
Revisions to the TMDL are documented in the approved WQMP updates listed below.
- July 2011, Appendix IV, page 16-27
- January 2012, Appendix III, page 15
Learn more about WQMP updates and about opportunities to comment on revisions to them.
Implementation Plan
On August 16, 2011, the BIG approved its final draft Implementation Plan for submittal to the TCEQ for commission approval.
The latest draft of the I-Plan is available on the H-GAC's BIG website .
Implementation Activities Prior to I-Plan Approval
Stakeholders have undertaken various activities to improve conditions in the lake prior to development of the I-Plan.
- Converting from Septic Systems to Wastewater Collection Systems (July 2008)
$500,000 grant to reduce anthropogenic sources of bacteria in the watershed. - IDDE Outfall Database - Database tool available for IDDE (Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination).
- Developed by Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) and made available to stakeholders for use in detecting illicit discharges. Posted with permission from NEORSD.
- Instructions and Files:
- Letter for removing "read-only" property
- Instructions for use of the database
- Zip file of database, including sample data (49 MB)
- Letter for removing "read-only" property
- Storm Water Workshop - Conroe, Texas (April 2008)
- A one-day event focused on storm water issues for communities in TMDL watersheds, with or without a MS4 storm water permit.
- Nature Fest at Jesse Jones Park - Precinct 4 Houston (March 2008)
- Over 1,200 members of the community attended Nature Fest. Watershed models and water quality literature were used to educate the public on the importance of preventing bacteria from entering Spring Creek.
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. The H-GAC is coordinating public participation activities for the project.
Bacteria Implementation Group
The TCEQ is working with the Bacteria Implementation Group (BIG) of the H-GAC to develp an implementation plan to reduce bacteria concentrations in 12 watersheds in the Houston area, including the projects for Buffalo and Whiteoak Bayous, Clear Creek, the Houston Metropolitan Area, and this project.
Get information about membership, meetings, and other reports of the the BIG on the BIG website.
Records of Meetings about TMDL Development
The documents linked below are in PDF .
June 2008 Meetings
- June 2, Kingwood - Data Review and Analysis
- June 3, Cleveland - Data Review and Analysis
- June 4, Humble - Data Review and Analysis
- June 5, The Woodlands - Data Review and Analysis (5.3 MB)
- June 12, Conroe - Data Review and Analysis
- Presentations Given at All Meetings
October/November 2007 Meetings
- October 15, Kingwood - TMDL Project for Cypress Creek and Lake Houston
- October 29, Cypress - TMDL Project for Cypress Creek
- October 30, Tomball - TMDL Project for Spring Creek
- November 1, New Caney - TMDL Project for Caney Creek and Peach Creek
- November 6, Spring - TMDL Project for Spring Creek
- November 7, Conroe - TMDL Project for the West Fork of the San Jacinto River
- November 8, Cleveland - TMDL Project for the East Fork of the San Jacinto River
Support Documents
The following documents are in PDF .
- Bacteria TMDL - Technical Support Document (5.5 MB)
- Monitoring Results - October 2008 (16.7 MB)
- Synoptic Sampling Survey Results - Collected November 2007
- Final Quality Assurance Project Plan
- Presentation: Stages in the Lake Houston Bacteria Watershed TMDL Project
- Texas Water Quality Standards: Criteria for Recreation
- Monitoring Plan
- Preliminary Data Review (9.8 MB)
For More Information
For information regarding the project, please e-mail us at tmdl@tceq.state.tx.us, and reference the Lake Houston TMDL in the subject line. Or call us at 512-239-6682.
