TCEQ’s History of the CWQMN Continuous Water Quality Network started by TCEQ in 2001 with 4 sites in the Bosque and Leon River watersheds Monitoring Network (CWQMN) Network continues to progressively grow
Jill Csekitz Currently over 50 sites in the network Texas Commission On Environmental Quality
Locations in Texas Benefits of Continuous Data -Caddo Lake - Lake Palestine - Wichita River Water quality is measured in greater temporal - Lake Possum Kingdom - Lake Granbury detail and resolution than is possible with - Lake Whitney - Bosque River and Tribs. discrete samples or short-term deployment of - Leon River Tribs. - Upper Colorado River monitoring equipment - San Antonio River - Pecos River - Rio Grande - Arroyo Colorado - Petronilla Creek - Houston Bayous - Groundwater Sites
1 Projects in the Brazos
Harmful Alga Research Partnership with TPWD to collect water quality data in reservoirs affected by Golden Alga Lake Whitney Environmental Monitoring and Response System (EMRS) Provide timely surface water quality data to TCEQ Field Ops for boat launch, screening and targeting field responses and investigations in the Upper North Bosque watershed. February 9, 2005
General Water Quality Monitor long-term water quality trends at downstream locations in the Bosque and Leon watersheds.
*Photo and slide by Dave Buzan
Vertical Profiler
2 Golden Alga Data Deployed Station TCEQ/TPWD/ BRA Partnerships 30 Degrees C Fluorescence P. parvum/ml/10,000 20
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0 10/4/2005 12/3/2005 2/1/2006 4/2/2006
*Data by Dave Buzan
Environmental Monitoring and Response System
3 How it Works Parameters Measured
Landowner permission to Ammonia - Nitrogen Temperature establish site Nitrate -Nitrogen Specific Conductance Develop site specific “trigger Nitrate -Nitrogen Specific Conductance levels” based on nutrient Total Reactive Dissolved Oxygen concentrations Phosphorus pH Deploy monitoring equipment Total Phosphorus Turbidity Receive notifications when ambient conditions exceed trigger levels TCEQ regional staff decide how/if to respond
Nutrient Monitoring Quality Control Data Quality
Each data point is verified and validated by TCEQ Data Management Staff or by contracted data validators.
Instrument blanks
4 Future Expansion in the Brazos Opportunities
Leon River at Gatesville Water Resource Management Field Parameters only (not nutrients) Water Resource Management Projects Replace the station lost in the 2007 Flood EV Spence Rio Grande at Andzalduas No other sites planned Pecos River Easy Parameters (ex. conductivity) Real-time data available to local decision-makers
For more information on TCEQ’s Questions? Continuous Water Quality Monitoring Network Jill Csekitz please visit: [email protected]
512.239.3136
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality www.texaswaterdata.org MC – 165 PO Box 13087 Austin, TX 78711 – 3087
www.tceq.state.tx.us
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