Welsh Reservoir: Assessing the Safety of Fish Consumption
County: Titus
Parameters: Selenium
River Basin: Cypress Creek
Segment: 0404D
Project Background and Goals
Welsh Reservoir is impounds Swauano and Justiss Creeks. It is located eleven miles southeast of Mount Pleasant in Titus County. The 1,465-acre reservoir was constructed in 1976 to serve as a cooling pond for a steam-electric power plant. Welsh Reservoir is a popular recreational area for boating and scuba diving. Fishing for sunfish, trophy bass, catfish, and crappie also lures large numbers of recreationists to the reservoir each year.
In 1992, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS; then known as TDH) issued an advisory restricting the consumption of fish from the reservoir because selenium concentrations in the fish posed a risk to consumers. The goal of this project was to determine whether the consumption of fish from the reservoir still posed a threat to human health. The TCEQ worked with the DSHS to collect fish samples, conduct laboratory analyses, and characterize the risks to consumers from all contaminants found in fish-tissue samples.
Project Status
After assessing all the data collected and characterizing the risks associated with all the contaminants found in fish tissue, the DSHS concluded that consumption of fish from Welsh Reservoir no longer poses a threat to human health. The fish consumption advisory was rescinded on October 14, 2004.
For More Information
Please e-mail us at tmdl@tceq.texas.gov and reference the Welsh Reservoir in the subject line. Or call Dania Grundmann at 512-239-3499.