North and Central Watersheds Characterization Phase II
Steering Committee Workshop
Funding: Clean Water Act’s Section
319 Nonpoint Source Pollution Program
Funding provided by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality through a Clean Water Act § 319(h) grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
This funding is to address non point source (urban runoff, stormwater runoff) pollution problems.
Purpose of this meeting:
Deliverable: Stakeholder Meeting
Requirement for Project Tasks in Quarter 6
Outline/Agenda Items:
Background
Objective
Scope of Work
Work Structure
Data Types Applications
Project Status:
- Aqua Troll Deployment
- Monthly Site Visits
- Sampling Campaign 1
Timeline
Background:
Phase I: Watershed Characterization
2019-2021- UTRGV Thesis and Publication 2021,
Phase II: Water Quality Data Collection
2022-Present- RATES Principal Investigator
North and Central Watersheds
The is designated as an impaired waterway for high concentrations of bacteria and low dissolved oxygen (DO).
North and Central (NC) primary waterways (Raymondville Drain, Hidalgo Willacy Main Drain, and IBWC North Floodway) in the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) have not been characterized which can potentially be the flow water carriers of these contaminants into the LLM.
Importance
Recreation activities: Fishing and Swimming
Aquatic Life
Laguna Atascosa Wildlife Refugee: Protects nearly 100k acres of habitat
Low- Dissolved Oxygen Information:
Objective
Characterize primary watersheds in the Lower Rio Grande Valley to address and assess levels of impairments.
Three Primary Waterways:
- Raymondville Drain
- Hidalgo Willacy Main Drain
- IBWC North Floodway
Scope of Work
Phase II Water Quality Data Collection
Continuous Water Quality Data Collection by leveraging Texas Water Development Board (TWDB FWF) monitoring stations and conducting quarterly water quality samples and flow measurements.
- Extend Phase I Lower Rio Grande Valley-North and Central Watershed Characterization (UTRGV).
- Provide a combination of continuous and event-based monitoring
- Real-Time Hydrologic System (RTHS): Leverages 3 monitoring stations commissioned by TWDB-FWF
- Quarterly- water quality and hydrodynamic measurements
- Dissolved Oxygen, Water Temperature, Conductivity, pH, Nitrate/Nitrite, Total Phosphorus, Total Nitrogen (TKN), and E. coli
- Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) discharge transects and flow measurements to develop discharge rating curves as a function of stage height
Goal: Watershed Protection Plan
Watershed Protection Plans (WPPs) funded through Clean Water Act Section 319(h) grants must adhere to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Nine Elements for Watershed-based Plans. It's essential to ensure adequate data availability for characterizing pollutant sources before committing to WPP development, ideally before seeking 319(h) funding. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) NPS Program advises a sequential approach:
- Watershed Characterization: Assess whether additional data collection is needed.
- WPP Development
- Recently funded Partial Watershed Protection Plan. (Expected Start Date: September 1, 2024)
Raymondville Drain
- City of Edinburg, Raymondville, San Perlita
Raymondville Drain
Rodriguez Road
Hidalgo Willacy Main Drain
- Alton, Palmhurst, Mission, McAllen, Pharr, Edinburg, Elsa, Edcouch, La Villa, Lyford
Hidalgo Willacy Main Drain
South of Willamar, FM 1420
:
IBWC North Floodway
- San Juan, Alamo, Donna, Weslaco, Mercedes, La Feria
IBWC North Floodway
Work Structure
Project Value
- Continuous water quality and stream stage heights.
- Address measurement bias
- Can be combined with derived flows to quantify contaminant loads
- Ability to characterize episodic events (e.g. spills, extreme weather)
18 months of monitoring.
Project duration: 24-36 months
Data Applications:
Watershed Protection Plan
Leveraging Data
LRGVDC Flood Infrastructure Fund Project: Flow measurements taken at the N&C sites can be used.
- ADCP Calibration
Project Status:
Deliverables completed this Quarter 6 (24YQ2) (December 2023- February 2024)
Aqua TROLL Deployment:
Installation Process: February 12, 2024- February 13, 2024
February 12, 2024
Aqua TROLL 3 installed at station: 13036
February 13, 2024
Aqua TROLL 2 installed at station: 22003
February 14, 2024
Aqua TROLL 1 installed at station: 22404
Monthly Site Visits:
At the three stations February 20, 2024
Sampling Campaign:
1st sampling campaign: February 21, 2024
Water Quality Grab Samples
Flow Measurements
Project Timeline
9/1/2022
Contract Executed
3/1/2023
QAPP Draft
5/1/2023
Received QAPP Revisions
6/2023
Sent QAPP
7/2023
Received 2nd batch of comments from TCEQ
8/7/2023
Final QAPP Review to TCEQ
02/1/2024
Begin Field Observations
5/31/2025
End Field Observations
8/30/2025
Final Report
Questions
22003 and 22404 RTHS Stations
Partial Watershed Protection Plan Development: Northern and Central Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) Watershed.
Recently awarded project to RATES.
Goals:
- Expand instantaneous monitoring at upstream stations.
- Identify source of nonpoint source contaminants (Geospatial Analysis).
- Quantify nonpoint sources loads (Pollutant Load Calculations).
- Involve stakeholders in the WPP planning process. (Educational/Technical Workshops)
- Increase Public Awareness (Outreach Activities).
Award Acceptance Letter
November 2023
Work Plan Submission
December 2023
Potential Project Start
Late 2024
Project Completion
August 2028
RTHS Platform to view data results
