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{&) NONPOINTSOIREESICEESSSTORY
Partnerships and Conservation Planning Help Restore Water Quality
in Catfish Creek
WafprhnHv lmnrn\/pH High levels of bacteria prompted the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality (TCEQ.) to add Catfish Creek to the 2010
Clean Water Act (CWA) section 303(d) list of impaired waters for not supporting its primary
contact recreation use. The Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board (TSSWCB) and an
extensive group of partners came together to engage with the community in 2010 to help
address these issues. Project partners used CWA section 319(h) grant funds from the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop a network of private landowners engaged in
cooperative conservation to advance the restoration and protection of water quality in the Trinity
River Basin. Through these efforts water quality was improved and Catfish Creek (assessment
unit [AU] 0804G_1) was removed from the state's list of impaired waters in 2014 for bacteria
(Escherichia coli).
Problem
Catfish Creek (Figure 1) in east-central Texas begins
in Henderson County and flows 36 miles to its conflu-
ence with the Trinity River in Anderson County. The
165-square-mile watershed is largely undeveloped and
livestock production and wildlife management are the
main land use activities.
Water quality data collected in Catfish Creek from
2002 to 2009 showed that E, coli levels exceeded the
bacteria water quality standard for contact recreation.
As a result, TCEQ added the creek to the 2010 CWA
section 303(d) list of impaired waters for not support-
ing its primary contact recreation use.
Concurrent to the stream being listed, natural resource
managers and landowners across the Middle Trinity
River Basin identified a need for stakeholder educa-
tion focusing on water quality and quantity, along with
overall natural resource management.
Story Highlights
The success of this effort can be attributed to numer-
ous education and outreach programs and the
implementation of best management practices (BMP)
through conservation plans. The Texas State Soil
and Water Conservation Board (TSSWCB) partnered
Terns
Trinidad
Henderson
Anderson
Freestone
i ! Cities
	Trinity River
I I Counties
	] Catfish Creek Watershed
Figure 1. Catfish Creek is in east-central Texas.
with Texas A&M Agri Life Extension Service, Texas
Water Resources Institute (TWRI), Texas A&M Natural
Resources Institute (NRI), Trinity Waters, Texas Wildlife
Association (TWA) and Texas Parks and Wildlife
Department (TPWD) to initiate an effort in 2010 to
help address these issues. Project partners used CWA
section 319(h) grant funds from EPA to develop a peer
network of private landowners engaged in cooperative
conservation to advance the restoration and protec-
tion of water quality in the Trinity River Basin.

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10000
E. coli in Catfish Creek
1000
o
o
o
u
Ul
~ ~~
100
10

~ Catfish Creek E.
coli Sample
Water Quality
Standard {126
cfu/lOOmL)
2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Sample Date
Figure 2. Bacteria levels in Catfish Creek declined and now meet standards.
During this effort, 196,297 contacts were made
through presentations at workshops and webinars and
by operating vendor booths. In addition, 3,754,554
contacts were made through the website and social
media channels, totaling 3,950,851 contacts during the
project.
Prescribed grazing,, upland wildlife management, forest
stand improvement and nutrient management were
the main conservation practices Implemented by land-
owners in the watershed. Implementation continues
in the entire watershed; therefore, water quality is
expected to be maintained in Catfish Creek.
Results
Recent water quality monitoring data show that
the £ coli geometric means meet the state water
quality standard (126 colony-forming units/100
milliliters) for contact recreation in Catfish Creek
(Figure 2). Consequently, AU 0804G_1 was
removed from the impaired waters list in 2014.
Catfish Creek currently supports the contact rec-
reation use. Water quality monitoring continues in
Catfish Creek to track progress of these and additional
efforts in the watershed.
Partners and Funding
Over $437,900 in CWA section 319(h) funds (provided
by the TSSWCB and EPA), matched with over $293,500
from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, TWRI,
NRI, TWA and Trinity Waters were used to educate
stakeholders In the Middle Trinity River Basin, which
includes Catfish Creek. The U.S. Department of
Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service
provided more than $17,800 in Farm Biii funding,
combined with more than $8,000 in locai match to
implement conservation practices on over 26,000
acres in the watershed.
0
PRO^°
s
©
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA 841-F-18-Q01CC
October 2018
For additional information contact:
Brian Koch
Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board
979-532-9496 • bkoch@tsswcb.texas.gov

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