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Fecal Bacteria Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) in 4 Austin Watersheds

Fecal Bacteria Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) in 4 Austin Watersheds. Presented to the City of Austin Environmental Board November 7, 2012. What is an Impairment?. TCEQ required by the federal Clean Water Act (Section 303 (d)) to regularly identify water bodies not meeting designated uses

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Fecal Bacteria Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) in 4 Austin Watersheds

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  1. Fecal Bacteria Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) in 4 Austin Watersheds Presented to the City of Austin Environmental Board November 7, 2012

  2. What is an Impairment? • TCEQ required by the federal Clean Water Act (Section 303 (d)) to regularly identify water bodies not meeting designated uses • www.tceq.texas.gov/waterquality/assessment • A water body is “impaired” for contact recreation if fecal bacteria levels exceed Texas standard

  3. Options to Address Impairments As presented to Environmental Board on 03/07/2012, there are 4 options to address impairments: • Use Attainability Analysis • Watershed Protection Plan • No action • Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL)

  4. Total Maximum Daily Load • Planning tool created by the Clean Water Act to address impairments • Determines how much pollution must be reduced to achieve water quality standard and maintain designated uses. TMDL = WLA + LA + MOS

  5. Waller Creek (upstream of 15th) Walnut Creek Spicewood Trib to Shoal Taylor Slough South

  6. A TMDL will… • Determine how much bacteria must be reduced to meet the standard • Identify probable sources of fecal bacteria • Change status of impairment on 303(d)

  7. A TMDL will not… • Does not address water quality parameters other than fecal bacteria • Does not address problems in any other watersheds • Does not determine quantitative load from specific sources • Does not require specific actions to be taken

  8. Implementation Plan • Description of what solutions or actions will be implemented to achieve the necessary load reductions calculated by the TMDL • Developed by Stakeholders • Participants make voluntary commitments

  9. Process-TMDL • TCEQ staff develop the TMDL for all 4 watersheds concurrently • City of Austin providing input data • Draft TMDL scheduled to be presented to TCEQ Commissioners by August 2013

  10. Process-Implementation Plan • Stakeholder process coordinated by a contractor paid by TCEQ • Participation, commitments are voluntary • I-Plan Coordination Committee sets agenda, writes the plan • I-Plan develops in parallel process with TMDL; draft to TCEQ by August 2013

  11. Citywide Focus Although TMDL and I-Plan will focus only on the 4 impaired watersheds, City of Austin will focus on city-wide strategies.

  12. 2012 De-Listings Three Austin water bodies removed from 2012 List of Texas of Impairments because of improving bacteria levels : • Eanes Creek • Westlake-Davenport Trib to Lake Austin • Colorado River below Longhorn Dam

  13. Next Steps First Public Meeting November 28, 2012 at 6:30 pm One Texas Center, 3rd Floor Room 325 505 Barton Springs Rd Austin 78733

  14. For More Information • Visit TCEQ: • www.tceq.texas.gov/waterquality/assessment • www.tceq.texas.gov/waterquality/tmdl • Read City report about the affected watersheds: • Email: Chris.Herrington@austintexas.gov http://assets.austintexas.gov/watershed/publications/files/SR-11-04%20TMDL%20Bacteria%20Data%20Analysis.pdf

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