2020 DRAFT BASIN HIGHLIGHTS REPORT AN OVERVIEW OF WATER QUALITY ISSUES THROUGHOUT THE CANADIAN AND RED RIVER BASINS The preparation of this report was financed through and in cooperation with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality North Fork Red River at FM 2473 2020 Canadian and Red River Basins Highlights Report ~ Page 2020 Canadian and Red River Basins Highlights Report ~ Page 2 Lake Texoma at US 377 Bridge TABLE OF CONTENTS CANADIAN AND RED RIVER BASIN VICINITY MAP 4 INTRODUCTION 5 Public Involvement Basin Advisory Committee Meeting 6 Coordinated Monitoring Meeting 7 Zebra Mussels Origin, Transportation, Impact, Texas Bound, Current Populations, and Studies 8 Texas Legislation Action 9 CANADIAN AND RED RIVER BASINS WATER QUALITY OVERVIEW AND HIGHLIGHTS Canadian and Red River Basins Water Quality Overview, 2018 Texas IR Overview 10 TABLES Canadian River Basin 2018 Texas IR Impairment Listing 11 Red River Basin 2018 Texas IR Impairment Listing 12 Water Quality Monitoring Field Parameters, Conventional Laboratory Parameters Red River Authority Environmental Services Laboratory Environmental Services Division 15 2020 Canadian and Red River Basins Highlights Report ~ Page 3 2020 Canadian and Red River Basins Highlights Report ~ Page 4 INTRODUCTION In 1991, the Texas Legislature enacted the Texas Clean Rivers Act (Senate Bill 818) in order to assess water quality for each river basin in the state. From this, the Clean Rivers Program (CRP) was created and has become one of the most successful cooperative efforts between federal, state, and local agen- cies and the citizens of the State of Texas. It is implemented by the Texas Commission on Environ- mental Quality (TCEQ) through local partner agencies to achieve the CRP’s primary goal of maintain- ing and improving the water quality in each river basin. The Red River Authority of Texas (Authority) is the partner agency for both the Canadian and Red River Basins. A watershed management approach was selected as the best method to manage the State’s diverse sur- face water resources. In order to achieve this, the Authority subdivided each basin into five reaches, or sub-watersheds, divided by natural hydrology and composed of classified segments and unclassified water bodies. The TCEQ identifies each of these classified segments in the Texas Surface Water Qual- ity Standards (TSWQS). Data resulting from the collection and analysis of water samples is used in the development of and compliance with these standards. An integral part of the CRP is the Basin Highlights Report (BHR). This report is based on quality as- sured data as utilized in the Texas Integrated Report (IR). The IR is an assessment of historical water quality data and is prepared by the TCEQ every two years, as required under the Federal Clean Water Act (CWA), Sections 305(b) and 303(d), as administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In 2019, the Authority produced the Basin Summary Report for the Canadian and Red River Basins, which included an extensive review of technical data and trend analyses based on information from the final 2016 Texas Integrated Report (IR). This year’s Basin Highlights Report (BHR) is brief in com- parison to the 2019 Basin Summary Report for the Canadian and Red River Basins, and serves to highlight ongoing environmental phenomena and projects impacting water quality within the Canadian and River Basins. Results from the 2018 IR are also presented for both basins. Therefore, it is strongly suggested that the reader should view the 2019 Summary Report of the Canadian and Red River Ba- sins for more in depth information. The summary report may be found on the Authority’s website at: www.rra.texas.gov. North Fork Wichita River 2020 Canadian and Red River Basins Highlights Report ~ Page 5 PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT AND STAKEHOLDER signed to be open, friendly, casual, and informative. They include in PARTICIPATION -depth technical discussions regarding project work plans, monitor- ing schedules, reports, and any other relevant topics presented by An important function of the CRP is to engage the public through committee members. BAC members are encouraged to bring guests the Authority website, stakeholder meetings, outreach, education, and to provide input, not only at the meetings, but throughout the and coordination of efforts. The Red River Authority’s website pro- year. vides information about all aspects of its operations. The Authority maintains a mailing list that is updated annually based The ABOUT US tab provides an overview of the Authority and its upon interest expressed by potential stakeholders. Meeting an- operations, including its Mission Statement, governing body, scope nouncements and materials are mailed to everyone on the mailing of services, calendar, and contact information. The Public Services list. Anyone interested in joining the BAC is encouraged to contact tab provides access to information regarding the General and Finan- Jose Martinez, Clean Rivers Program Supervisor, at 940-723-1717 cial Services, Utility Operations and the Authority’s NELAP Ac- or [email protected]. credited Environmental Laboratory. An entire section of the website, accessible via the WATER QUAL- ITY & PLANNING tab, is devoted to the Texas Clean Rivers Program. This section provides quick and easy access to all publica- tions, up-to-date quality assured water quality data, and information relating to the Authority’s participation in the Clean Rivers Program. Additionally, information regarding Regional Water Planning, the Chloride Control Project, and basin hydrology information can be found in this section. The Authority also maintains an online library under the PUBLICATIONS tab that includes reports and studies prepared by the Authority, data inventories, digital mapping, general information, links to environmental studies, historical weather data, and more. The PUBLIC NOTICES tab lists all public meetings and events scheduled by the Authority, such as the Basin Advisory Com- mittee Meetings, and the Coordinated Monitoring Meeting, for ex- ample. BASIN ADVISORY COMMITTEE The Steering Committee, also known as the Basin Advisory Com- mittee (BAC), has been instrumental in guiding the CRP in the Ca- nadian and Red River Basins. BAC Members include representa- tives from the public, municipal, county, state and federal govern- ment, industry, business, agriculture, fee payers, environmental, ed- ucation, civic organizations, and others. The BAC meetings are open to the public and held in Amarillo and Wichita Falls at least once per year. The meetings are purposely de- 2020 Canadian and Red River Basins Highlights Report ~ Page 6 COORDINATED MONITORING Watershed Protection Plans - A non-regulatory process for coor- Water quality is important and requires an extensive amount of re- dinating, documenting, and tracking strategies and activities to sources. To best ensure these resources are used in a manner that protect and improve water quality. maximizes the amount of water quality data, the Authority coordi- nates monitoring efforts with other basin entities by holding annual Use Attainability Analyses - A UAA is a scientific assessment of Coordinated Monitoring Meetings (CMM). Entities that have partic- the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of a water ipated include; the Canadian River Municipal Water Authority, the body. Additionally, a UAA is designed to evaluate surface water City of Sherman, the North Texas Municipal Water District, Texas standards and, if appropriate, establish standards that meet the A&M AgriLife, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, actual use(s) of the waterbody. the Texas Institute of Applied Environmental Research, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Texas State Soil and Water Con- servation Board, the United States Geological Survey, and several others. Goals of this meeting are to coordinate monitoring locations, param- eters of concern including §303(d) listings and §305(b) concerns, and data collection frequency. The meeting is set up to be more like a workshop and input from all participants is encouraged to help de- velop the most comprehensive monitoring plan possible. Additionally, CMM attendees participate in Watershed Action Plan- ning (WAP) discussions. The WAP process helps to promote a more focused effort on certain water bodies during the annual CMM. Sites identified for WAP discussions are generally those having impair- ments for several years with no definitive solution or source of im- pairment identified. Furthermore, these discussions provide input to TCEQ to help identify and prioritize watershed restoration projects for impaired water bodies. Information about potential sources of pollution, geographic factors in the watershed, and community interest is stored in the state water- shed action planning strategy table and used to implement the fol- lowing water quality protection strategies: Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) - A TMDL is a scientifi- cally-derived target that tells the greatest amount of a particular substance that can be added to a waterway without adversely affecting its health. 2020 Canadian and Red River Basins Highlights Report ~ Page 7 ZEBRA MUSSELS TEXAS BOUND ORIGIN In April 2009, the first established colonies were reported in Lake Native to Russia, the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) was first Texoma in the Red River Basin. Soon after the Lake Texoma dis- introduced into North American waters as seemingly innocent hitch- covery, colonies were also reported