Texas Ag Expo highlights water quality

By MINDY POEHL | Central Texas Edition

Many agricultural distributors set up booths at the Texas Ag Expo that was held in Stephenville on Oct. 28-29. The booths stayed busy with many visitors learning about different products sold. � Photo by Mindy Poehl

Nov. 11, 2005 - Held in "Milk Country," this year's Texas Ag Expo in Stephenville was geared toward dairy farmers. At a seminar, Oct. 28, on Total Maximum Daily Load Program (TMDL), Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) project manager, Kerry Niemann, was on hand to explain TMDL's as they relate to dairy producers.

"States are required to do TMDL's," Neimann explained. "They (TMDL's) establish a maximum amount of pollutant that a water body can receive and still meet water quality standards."

�Each body of water is identified for its uses, such as for public health and enjoyment, aquatic life support (fishing) and economic development.

"It takes a long time between initiating the TMDL projects for impaired waters and the TMDL allocation report,  because we want to do it right, because it affects people's lives," Neimann said. 

The bodies of water are sampled during basin events, such as during normal flow, and during storm events.

'TMDL's are developed in cooperation with regional stakeholders, and are published for review and comment by the public before they are adopted by the TCEQ. The stakeholders provide advice and comment to the TCEQ on its project to improve water quality.

"We want to get everyone working together, because that creates momentum," Neimann said. "We want the stakeholder's input."

The criteria for bacteria in bodies of water are E. coli and fecal coliform.

"E. coli comes from human and animal waste and can be spread from person to person, through raw vegetables, and through uncooked beef," Neimann said."The Leon River was listed in 2000 for bacteria."

The TMDL project on the Leon River was initiated in 2001 and it involves taking different scat samples and comparing them, "just like comparing different DNA samples," explained Neimann.

The Leon River is one of several segments being addressed under a TMDL project to improve water quality in the San Antonio, Guadalupe, and Brazos River Basins. Committee members represent government, permitted facilities, agriculture, business, and environmental and community interests in the watershed. 

The North Bosque River was listed for its abundance of phosphorus. 

"It was listed in 1988 and the TMDL adopted it in 2001," Neimann said.

During the study of the bodies of water, endpoints are targeted, as well as source load allocations. An implementation plan (IP) puts the TMDL into action by outlining the steps necessary to reduce pollutant loads through regulatory and voluntary activities. This often results in farmers and ranchers being asked to use new practices that prevent fertilizers, manure, and pesticides from reaching lakes and rivers. Cities may also be required to control and treat runoff from their streets.