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Neches River Below Lake Palestine, Tributaries: A Community Project to Protect Recreational Uses

A project to reduce bacteria and protect recreational safety in watersheds in the Lufkin area. The stakeholders and TCEQ are developing a total maximum daily load (TMDL) and implementation plan (I-Plan), which together will be the road map for improving water quality.

Cedar Creek in Lufkin
Photo courtesy of the Angelina and Neches River Authority

See Also:

TMDL Home

TMDL Projects

TMDL News

TMDL Calendar

County: Angelina
Parameter: Bacteria
Basin: Neches River
Segments: 0604A, 0604B, 0604C, 0604M
Assessment Units (AUs): 0604A_02, 0604B_01, 0604C_01, 0604M_03

Project Overview

On this page:

Background and Goals
Get Involved
Reports
Contact the TMDL Program

Background and Goals

In portions of four stream segments in the Lufkin area, bacteria concentrations are sometimes higher than the criteria set to protect the safety of recreation. High concentrations of bacteria, which are found in both human and animal waste, may indicate a health risk to people who swim or wade in the water body—activities called “contact recreation” in the state’s standards for water quality.

The watersheds lie in Angelina County in east Texas in the vicinity of Lufkin, and include the cities of Hudson and Lufkin. The project includes portions of Jack Creek, Cedar Creek, Hurricane Creek, and Biloxi Creek. The watershed area for this project is also referred to as Tributaries of the Neches River below Lake Palestine.

The goal of this project is to improve water quality in order to protect recreational uses. Toward that goal, the TCEQ and stakeholders are developing a TMDL and an I-Plan to reduce bacteria in the creeks.

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Get Involved

Staff from the Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI) are working with communities, interest groups, and local organizations to distribute information about this project and involve stakeholders in developing the I-Plan for watershed improvement. All public meetings about this project are open to anyone interested. Watch for meeting announcements here and on the TWRI website Exit the TCEQ .