Sandy and Wolf Creeks

This is a project to reduce bacteria and protect recreational safety in Sandy and Wolf Creeks. 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.

Sandy Creek

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Counties: Jasper, Tyler
Parameter: Bacteria
Basin: Neches River
Segment: 0603A, 0603B
Assessment Units (AUs): 0603A_01, 0603B_01

On this page:

Background and Goals
Get Involved
Adopted TMDLs
Reports
Contact the TMDL Program

Background and Goals

The watersheds of Sandy Creek and Wolf Creek lie in the gulf coast region of east Texas in the Neches River Basin. Both creeks are tributaries of B.A. Steinhagen Lake. The Sandy Creek watershed is in Jasper County and includes the city of Jasper. The Wolf Creek watershed is in Tyler County and includes the city of Colmesnell.

High concentrations of bacteria, which are found in both human and animal waste, have been observed in Sandy Creek (Segment 0603A, AU 0603A_01) and Wolf Creek (Segment 0603B, AU 0603B_01). The presence of these bacteria may indicate a health risk to people who swim or wade in the creeks—activities referred to as “contact recreation” in the Texas Surface Water Quality Standards.

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

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Get Involved

Staff from the Texas Water Resources Institute have been 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 TWRI's Meetings webpage , which includes all the meetings TWRI hosts for TMDL projects in the Neches River Basin.

Meeting Records

Records for some of the stakeholder meetings are available below. Records of other meetings are available on TWRI's Meetings webpage , which includes all the meetings TWRI hosts for TMDL projects in the Neches River Basin.

May 17, 2021

September 1, 2020

Meeting Summary 9/1/20

November 21, 2019

Meetings Summary, Meetings of 11/21/19

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Adopted TMDLs

The Commission adopted these TMDLs on May 18, 2022. On August 18, 2022 the EPA approved the TMDLs, at which time they became part of the state’s Water Quality Management Plan. Learn more about the Texas Water Quality Management Program.