West Fork of the San Jacinto River: Developing a Watershed Protection Plan
Background
The West Fork of the San Jacinto River (including its tributary Lake Creek) and Spring Creek (including its tributary Cypress Creek) merge and flow together into Lake Houston from the northwest. They provide drinking water for about six million people in the Houston metropolitan area. The West Fork San Jacinto River and Lake Creek are both impaired
due to elevated levels of bacteria. Spring Creek is impaired due to low levels of dissolved oxygen. All these water bodies also have listed concerns for nutrients, for low dissolved oxygen, and/or for their biological communities. See the Fact Sheet for a map of the watersheds.
Previous planning projects to address these issues include:
- A TMDL for Bacteria in the East and West Forks of the San Jacinto River.
- An Implementation Plan for Seventy-Two Total Maximum Daily Loads for Bacteria in the Houston-Galveston Region.
Return to topProject Description
This project will have two related parts, both involving a comprehensive stakeholder process:
- Collect, analyze, and evaluate the results of monitoring data and conduct modeling to create a characterization of Spring Creek and Cypress Creek.
- Produce a watershed protection plan (WPP) to address the bacteria impairments in the West Fork of the San Jacinto River and Lake Creek.
Documents
- Project Fact Sheet (updated twice a year)
For More Information
To find out more about the NPS Program, call 512-239-6682 or e-mail us at nps@tceq.texas.gov.