Texas Stream Team: Citizen
Science Water Quality
Monitoring and TMDLs
Travis Tidwell
The Meadows Center for Water and the
Environment – Texas State University
July 29, 2014
Contact us:
Texas Stream Team
Riverside Apts, Unit C4
601 University Drive
San Marcos, TX 786664616
Prepared in cooperation with the Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality and U.S. EPA.
The preparation of this presentation was financed through grants from the
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
Phone: 512-245-1346
Toll free: 877-506-1401
txstreamteam@txstate.edu
1
ABOUT US
 Mission
 A joint partnership with the
Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality, U.S.
EPA Region VI, Texas State
University-San Marcos, and
numerous partners.
 To facilitate environmental
stewardship by empowering
a statewide network of
concerned volunteers,
partners, and institutions in
a collaborative effort to
promote a healthy and safe
environment though
environmental education,
data collection, and
community action.
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TEXAS STREAM TEAM
STRUCTURE
Water Quality Education
Partner
3
TEXAS STREAM TEAM
 Activities Include:
 Citizen Water Quality
Monitoring
 Education and Outreach
 Teacher Workshops
 Goals Include:
 Water Quality Education
 Non-point Source
Pollution Reduction
 Watershed Awareness
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PARTNERS
 City Governments
5
PARTNERS
 Clean Rivers Program Partners
6
PARTNERS
 Non-Profits
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PARTNERS
 Universities
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WHAT DO PARTNERS DO?
 Supply kits, reagents, and other equipment to certified
monitors
 Provide trainings
 Create Monitoring Plans for citizen scientists
 Conduct Quality Assurance of the data and submit data to
the Meadows Center
 Incorporate TST data into water quality projects
 Use TST data to supplement professional water quality
monitoring
 Time spent training, monitoring, submitting data, and money
used to purchase equipment counts as match for federal
funding.
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TEXAS STREAM TEAM
 Texas Stream Team
offers two types of
water quality training
 Our Core Water Quality
Training
 Our Advanced NPS
Suite Training
TEXAS STREAM TEAM
Core Water Quality Training
 Consists of 3 Phases
 Phase I: Demonstration by the
instructor
 Phase II: Trainees take
measurements with the guidance
of an instructor
 Phase III: Trainees take
measurements with no guidance
from instructor and compare
results with those of the
instructor
 After becoming certified, we
ask our monitors to monitor
their assigned site monthly
TEXAS STREAM TEAM
Core Water Quality Training:
 Types of water quality
parameters measured:
 Temperature
 Conductivity
 Dissolved Oxygen
 pH
 Water Clarity
 These are not measurements
of pollution
 Pollution can affect these
parameters
TEXAS STREAM TEAM
Advanced Training
Certified Water Quality Monitors can then
take our Advanced NPS Suite training
Monitors learn to measure:
E. coli
Nitrogen
Phosphorus
Turbidity
TEXAS STREAM TEAM
After monitors collect data, they send us the
datasheet or upload the data online
The data is reviewed for quality assurance
It is then posted on our dataviewer for the
public to see
DATAVIEWER
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DATAVIEWER
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DATAVIEWER
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DATAVIEWER
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DATA REPORTS
% Complete
Mean ± Standard
Deviation
Min
Max
Total Dissolved Solids (mg/L)
86.3%
395.1 ± 62.5
117.0
773.5
Water Temperature (°C)
98.4%
20.5 ± 4.4
0
32
Dissolved Oxygen (mg/L)
89.1%
6.2 ± 2.7
1.1
12.0
pH
98.4%
7.5 ± 0.3
6.7
8.5
Secchi Disk Transparency (m)
90.2%
0.7 ± 0.3
0
1.9
Depth (m)
90.2
0.7 ± 0.3
0
1.9
E. coli Bacteria (CFU/100 mL)
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Parameter
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TEXAS STREAM TEAM
Program Data:
 7,692 trained citizen
scientists since 1991
 45,000 volunteer hours
 429 actively monitored
sites
 82,973 miles of Texas
waterways monitored
 35,146 monitoring
events
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TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY LOAD
 A water body that does not
meet the standards of water
quality for its use is called
impaired
 It goes on the 303(d) list
(a.k.a. the naughty list)
 A TMDL is a calculation of
the maximum amount of
pollutant that a water body
can receive and still meet
the water quality standards
 One TMDL per pollutant per
water body segment
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TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY LOADS
 Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is responsible
for adopting all TMDLs
 An Implementation Plan (I -Plan) can be developed along
with a TMDL
 I-Plans lay out:
 What needs to be done over the next one to five years to reduce
the pollution load in the water body
 Who is responsible for making sure the tasks are done
 When the task will be complete
 How improvement will be measured
 TCEQ collaborates with stakeholders during the
development of an I-Plan
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WATERSHED PROTECTION PLAN
 A Watershed Protection Plan
is a locally driven
stakeholder process
 Holistic in approach
 Watershed instead of segment
 Addresses multiple factors
leading to non-point source
pollution, not just one
constituent
 Sponsored by Texas
Commission on
Environmental Quality and
the Texas State Soil and
Water Conservation Board
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THE NINE ELEMENTS OF A
SUCCESSFUL WPP









Identification of causes and sources
Estimate of needed load reductions
Description of management measures
Estimate of technical and financial assistance
Information/education component
Schedule for implementation
Description of interim, measureable milestones
Criteria to determine if load reductions are achieved
Monitoring component to evaluate effectiveness
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THE NINE ELEMENTS OF A
SUCCESSFUL WPP









Identification of causes and sources of pollution
Estimate of needed load reductions
Description of management measures
Estimate of technical and financial assistance
Information/education component
Schedule for implementation
Description of interim, measureable milestones
Criteria to determine if load reductions are achieved
Monitoring component to evaluate effectiveness
Similar elements are essential to developing a successful I-Plan as well
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CITIZEN SCIENTISTS MONITORING
 Identification of causes and sources of pollution
 Characterization Study
 A good time to recruit stakeholders into Citizen Monitoring
Programs
 Citizen scientists can supplement professional monitoring
plans
 Spatially – Some water bodies have only one monitoring site
 Temporally – Some sites are only monitored quarterly
 Texas Stream Team monitors can fill in those gaps
 The same is true for monitoring the effectiveness of the plan
during implementation
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CITIZEN SCIENTISTS MONITORING
 We have a QAPP!
 Quality Assurance Project
Plan
 Approved by TCEQ
 Details how the data will be
collected, maintained,
analyzed
 Required for the collection of
data in WPPs and TMDLs
 Use Texas Stream Team,
don’t reinvent the wheel
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EDUCATION AND OUTREACH
 Information/education
component
 Texas Stream Team Staff
can:
 Attend educational events in
your watershed
 Train volunteers in your
watershed to conduct
educational demonstrations
 Provide equipment and
educational materials for
outreach events
 Citizen monitoring itself is
an educational component
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WATERSHED SERVICES
 Other services we can offer:
 Creating or assisting in
monitoring plans
 Watershed surveys
 Intensive bacteria surveys
 River/Park Cleanups
 Plant riparian vegetation or
rain gardens
 Watershed tours
 These services have the
same education/outreach
goal, but require less
commitment from volunteers
than monthly monitoring
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TEXAS STREAM TEAM
Citizen Monitoring + Education and Outreach =
Stakeholder Engagement
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CARTERS CREEK I-PLAN
 Runs through College Station
and Bryan
 Impaired for bacteria
 One site that is professionally
monitored
 I-Plan Coordinating Committee
wants more monitoring on the
creek
 Texas Water Resource Institute
does some monitoring
 TWRI has also created a Stream
Team to gather more data and
get people involved
 TWRI will support the Stream
Team for 2 years after which the
Cities of Bryan and College
Station will take over
Carters Creek
www.tceq.gov
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SAN MARCOS WATERSHED
INITIATIVE
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SAN MARCOS WATERSHED
INITIATIVE
 A developing Watershed Protection Plan for the Upper San
Marcos River
 Not impaired, but stakeholders concerned about future water
quality
 Watershed Characterization recently created
 19 years of Texas Stream Team Data used to help establish
baseline water quality conditions
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SAN MARCOS WATERSHED
INITIATIVE
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TMDLS AND WPPS IN TEXAS
Aquilla Reservoir TMDL
Ar m and Bayou W PP
Arroyo Colorado W PP
Atascosa River TMDL
Attoya c Bayou W PP
Austin Area W atersheds TMDL
Barton Springs and Onion Creek
Bas tr op Bayou W PP
Brady Creek W PP
Buck Creek W PP
Buf f alo and W hiteoak Bayous T MDL
Caddo Lake W PP
Carters Creek TMDL
Cedar Bayou W PP
Cedar Creek Reservoir
Clear Creek TMDL
Colorado River TMDL
Concho River W PP
Copano Bay, Ar ans as and Mis s ion River s T MDL
Cypr e s s Cr eek W PP
Dic k ins on Bayou W PP
Double Bayou W PP
Eagle Mountain Reservoir
Elm and Sandies Creeks TMDL
Geronimo Creek W PP
Gilleland Creek TMDL
Hickory Creek W PP
Lake Arlington Master Plan
Lake Austin TMDL
Lake Grandbury W PP
Lake Granger W PP
Lake Houston TMDL
Lake W orth TMDL
Lampasas River W PP
Leon River W PP
Lower and Middle Brazos River
Lower Nueces River W PP
Lower Sabinal River TMDL
Lower San Antonio River TMDL
Mos es Highland Kar ank awa Bayous W PP
North Bosque TMDL
Nueces Bay TMDL
Orange County W atersheds TMDL
O s o Bay/ O s o Cr eek T MDL
Paso del Norte
Peach Creek TMDL
Pecos River W PP
Plum Creek W PP
Salado Creek TMDL
San Bernard W PP
San Felipe Creek Master Plan
South and North Llano W PP
Trinity River TMDL
Upper Cibolo W PP
Upper Guadalupe River TMDL
Upper O ys ter Cr eek T MDL
Upper San Antonio
Upper San Marcos W PP
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TMDLS AND WPPS IN TEXAS
Aquilla Reservoir TMDL
Ar m and Bayou W PP
Arr o y o C o l o ra d o W PP
Atascosa River TMDL
At t o ya c B a yo u W PP
Au s t i n Are a W a t e rs h e d s T M D L
Barton Springs and Onion Creek
Bastrop Bayou WPP
Brady Creek W PP
Buck Creek W PP
Buf f alo and W hiteoak Bayous T MDL
Caddo Lake WPP
Carters Creek TMDL
Cedar Bayou WPP
Cedar Creek Reservoir
Clear Creek TMDL
Colorado River TMDL
Concho River W PP
Copano Bay, Ar ans as and Mis s ion River s T MDL
Cypress Creek WPP
Dickinson Bayou WPP
Double Bayou W PP
Eagle Mountain Reservoir
Elm and Sandies Creeks TMDL
Geronimo Creek WPP
Gilleland Creek TMDL
Hickory Creek W PP
Lake Arlington Master Plan
L a k e Au s t i n T M D L
Lake Grandbury W PP
Lake Granger W PP
Lake Houston TMDL
Lake Worth TMDL
Lampasas River W PP
Leon River W PP
Lower and Middle Brazos River
Lower Nueces River W PP
Lower Sabinal River TMDL
Lower San Antonio River TMDL
Mos es Highland Kar ank awa Bayous W PP
North Bosque TMDL
Nueces Bay TMDL
Orange County Watersheds TMDL
Oso Bay/Oso Creek TMDL
Paso del Norte
Peach Creek TMDL
Pecos River WPP
Plum Creek WPP
Salado Creek TMDL
San Bernard WPP
San Felipe Creek Master Plan
South and North Llano WPP
Trinity River TMDL
Upper Cibolo WPP
Upper Guadalupe River TMDL
Upper O ys ter Cr eek T MDL
Upper San Antonio
Upper San Marcos WPP
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