Environmental Flows
Committees, stakeholder and advisory groups, rules, and tools for assessing environmental flows.
HOT The Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 1397 in 2023. The bill requires the TCEQ to submit a biennial report on the adopted environmental flow standards. The biennial report includes the progress made over the previous biennium in implementing environmental flow standards; the status of any efforts to set aside unappropriated water; input provided by Texas Water Development Board and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department on their environmental flow activities and recommendations; and any recommendations for the workplan.
TCEQ Environmental Flow Standards Report, December 2023
Appendix A: TWDB Environmental Flows Activities
Appendix B: TPWD Environmental Flows Activities
Background
The Legislature passed bills to develop, manage and preserve the water resources of the state and protect instream and freshwater inflows. The bills established the Environmental Flows Advisory Group and Science Advisory Committee and required TCEQ to adopt rules related to environmental flows. (House Bill 3 and Senate Bill 3, 80th Legislature, 2007)
What is Environmental Flow?
An environmental flow is an amount of water that should remain in a stream or river for the benefit of the environment of the river, bay, and estuary, while balancing human needs. (For the legislative definition of an environmental flow regime, see (Title 2, Texas Water Code, Section 11.002.16. )
Environmental Flows Information
Environmental Flows Advisory Group
Environmental Flows Science Advisory Committee
Basin and Bay Stakeholder Committees and Expert Science Teams
Committees and Expert Science Teams for:
- Trinity and San Jacinto Rivers and Galveston Bay
- Sabine and Neches Rivers and Sabine Lake Bay
- Colorado and Lavaca Rivers and Matagorda and Lavaca Bays
- Guadalupe, San Antonio, Mission, and Aransas Rivers and Mission, Copano, Aransas, and San Antonio Bays
- Nueces River and Corpus Christi and Baffin Bays
- Brazos River and Associated Bay and Estuary System
- Rio Grande, Rio Grande Estuary, and Lower Laguna Madre