^tosrx
i&j) NONPOINTSOIREESICEESSSTORY
Implementing Conservation Practices and Conducting Outreach Improves
Water Quality in the Navasota River Watershed
Waterbodies Irnoroved The Navasota River is one of many rural water bodies listed
as impaired on the Clean Water Act (CWA) section 303(d)
list due to elevated levels of Escherichia coii bacteria. The Navasota River was first listed in 2002;
Cedar Creek, a tributary of the Navasota River, was listed in 2004. The Texas State Soil and Water
Conservation Board (TSSWCB) used CWA section 319(h) funding and worked with many local
partners to conduct watershed education events and to develop a watershed protection plan (WPP)
to address the impairments and other water quality concerns. Water quality has improved through
these efforts, allowing assessment units (Alls) in the Navasota River (1209_02 and 1209_03) and
Cedar Creek (AU 1209G) to be removed from the state's list of impaired waters.
Problem
The Navasota River is a subwatershed within the
Brazos River watershed in east centra! Texas; it emp-
ties into the Brazos River in Grimes County (Figure 1).
The majority of the watershed iand use is rura! and is
used for cattle and poultry operations or recreational/
wildlife uses. The Bryan-College Station area in Brazos
County and small towns in neighboring counties are
the primary non-rural land uses.
Water quality data collected in the Navasota River
from 1995 to 2000 and in Cedar Creek from 1995 to
2002 showed that fecal coliform bacteria and E. Coli
levels exceeded the bacteria water quality standard for
contact recreation. As a result, TCEQ added the river
and creek to the 2002 and 2004 CWA section 303(d)
lists of impaired waters for not supporting the primary
contact recreation use.
Story Highlights
Since 2007, the TSSWCB has been partnering with
local soil and water conservation districts (SWCDs),
Texas A&M Agr!Life Extension, Texas Water Resources
Institute (TWRI) and Texas A&M Agr!Life Research to
host numerous educational and outreach events in the
Navasota River watershed for stakeholders to iearn
about their local water quality issues. These programs
focused on water quality, feral hog management,
riparian area protection, livestock management, septic
Terns
Figure 1. The Navasota River watershed flows through
east central Texas.
systems management and protecting water wells. Field
days to demonstrate best management practices to
landowners were also held with some of the events.
Coordinate System: GCS North Amen
Datum: North American 1983
Unite: Degree
¦¦ 12Q9G
1209_02
<= 1209.03
	| Lakes
	 Navasota River
Cities
| | Navasota Watershed

-------
In 2013, the TSSWCB and TWRI began working with
stakeholders to develop a WPP. The stakeholder group
that led the WPP development consisted of concerned
citizens and representatives from agricultural produc-
ers, wildlife interests, SWCDs, and city and county
governments. Stakeholders worked together to
identify management measures that would address
the potential sources of pollution in the watershed.
The TSSWCB partnered with the Brazos County, Bedias
Creek, Navasota, and Robertson County SWCDs to
develop and implement six water quality manage-
ment plans (WQMP) In the watershed. Most of the
WQMPs were on poultry animal feeding operations
that Included grazing (covering over 3,666 acres).
These plans included alternative water sources,
prescribed grazing, cross-fencing, animal mortality
facilities, composting facilities, nutrient management
and waste utilization. In addition, the U.S. Department
of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation
Service (NRCS) worked with landowners in both
subwatersheds to implement conservation practices
on over 4,200 acres using Environmental Quality
incentives Program funding. The conservation prac-
tices implemented included prescribed grazing, grass
and range planting, nutrient management, animal
mortality facilities, composting facilities, conservation
cover, cover crops, cross fence, livestock pipeline,
water troughs and ponds.
Results
Data show that the long-term E. coli geometric means
meet the state water quality standard for contact
recreation in portions of the Navasota River in 2012
(AU 1209_02; 101.51 colony-forming units [cfu]/100
milliliters [ml_] for data collected in 2003-2010) and
2018 (AU 1209_03; 54.48 cfu/100 mL for data col-
lected in 2009-2016) as well as in Cedar Creek in 2014
(AU 1209G; 117.05 cfu/100 mL for data collected in
2005-2012). Consequently, portions of the Navasota
River and Cedar Creek were removed from the 303(d)
list in the 2012, 2014 and 2018 in the Texas Integrated
Report of Surface Water Quality.
The success of this effort can be attributed to
increased stakeholder awareness due to educational
programs focused on improving water quality, the
watershed planning process, and conservation
practices being implemented in the watershed.
Conservation practices continue to be implemented in
the watershed since the delisting of the Navasota River
and Cedar Creek. Water quality monitoring continues
to track and measure interim progress to implement
the WPP and ensure this restoration effort remains a
success (Figure 2).
Partners and Funding
Over $28,000 in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
CWA section 319 funds (provided by the TSSWCB),
combined with more than $250,000 in nonfederal
funds from TSSWCB, TWRI, Texas A&M AgriLife
Extension and Texas A&M Agri Life Research supported
the delivery of the educational programs and develop-
ment of the WPP.
The Brazos County, Bedias Creek, Navasota, and
Robertson County SWCDs worked with landowners
to voluntarily implement conservation practices to
reduce the impact of livestock and poultry operations
in the watershed. The TSSWCB and the NRCS worked
through the SWCDs to provide approximately $34,250
in state funding and over $327,000 in federal Farm Bill
funding to landowners as financial incentives to imple-
ment conservation practices and provide technical
assistance in the Navasota River watershed.
Figure 2. Monitoring will continue to be conducted to
track water quality in the Navasota River.
&
*L PRO^°
2
o
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA 841-F-20-0Q1JJ
December 2020
For additional information contact:
Brian Koch
Texas State Soil & Water Conservation Board
979-532-9496 • bkoch@tsswcb.texas.gov
Samantha Litchke
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
512-239-5644 • Samantha.Litchke@tceq.texas.gov

-------