Lavaca River Above Tidal and Rocky Creek: A Community Project to Protect Recreational Uses

A project to reduce bacteria and protect recreational safety in the Lavaca River Above Tidal and Rocky Creek. The community has developed an Implementation Plan (I-Plan), which together with total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) developed by the TCEQ with community feedback, provide the the road map for improving water quality. The commission has adopted the TMDLs and approved the I-Plan.

Rocky Creek
Photo Courtesy of the Texas Water Resources Institute

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Counties: Lavaca, Jackson
Parameter: Bacteria
River Basin: Lavaca
Segment: 1602, 1602B

On this page:

Background and Goals
Status of Activities
Get Involved
TMDLs
I-Plan
Reports
Contact the TMDL Program

Background and Goals

The Lavaca River Above Tidal (Segment 1602) and Rocky Creek (Segment 1602B) are located on the Texas Gulf Coast. The watershed of the combined segments lies primarily in Lavaca and Jackson counties. The above-tidal portion of the Lavaca River is a perennial (always flowing) stream. Rocky Creek, a tributary of the Lavaca River, is also perennial, and joins the Lavaca River just below the city of Hallettsville.

High concentrations of bacteria, which are found in both human and animal waste, have been observed in both water bodies—since 2008 for the Lavaca River Above Tidal and since 2014 for Rocky Creek. The presence of these bacteria may indicate a health risk to people who swim or wade in the water bodies—activities referred to as “contact recreation” in the Texas Surface Water Quality Standards.

The goal of this project is to improve water quality in order to protect recreational uses. Toward that goal, the TCEQ is developing a TMDLs and an I-Plan to reduce bacteria in the Lavaca River and Rocky Creek.

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Status of Activities

TCEQ provides opportunities for stakeholders to report on progress and changes in the watershed. Tracking of implementation progress allows stakeholders to evaluate actions taken, identify actions that may not be working, and make any changes as necessary.

Get Involved

Staff from the Texas Water Resources Institute worked with stakeholders to distribute information about this project and involve them in developing the TMDLs and I-Plan for watershed improvement. All public meetings about this project are open to anyone interested. See the Contact the TMDL Program section below to contact us about ways you could be involved, or read more about what it means to participate in TMDL and I-Plan projects.

Everyone is welcome to attend meetings about the TMDLs and I-Plan for the Lavaca River Above Tidal and Rocky Creek.

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TMDLs

The commission adopted these TMDLs on August 14, 2019. The EPA approved them on October 25, 2019, at which time they become part of the state's Water Quality Management Plan.

Two Total Maximum Daily Loads for Indicator Bacteria in Lavaca River Above Tidal and Rocky Creek
Segments: 1602 and 1602B; Assessment Units: 1602_03 and 1602B_01
Response to Public Comment on the TMDLs

Revisions to TMDLs

From time to time, it is necessary to revise TMDLs to account for changing conditions in the watershed. Revisions to the load allocations in TMDLs are made via the state’s Water Quality Management Plan (WQMP), which is updated quarterly.

The WQMP provides projected effluent limits for use in planning and permitting activities under the Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (TPDES). The TCEQ reviews all applications for new and amended permits for conformance with applicable portions of the WQMP, including adopted TMDLs.

Addendum

Addendums are created to add load allocations for assessment units that are impaired by the same pollutant or condition, within the same watershed as in the original TMDL report. Addendums use the same units of measure as the original TMDL.