MINUTES DRAFT 1 – Printed 11/8/2004 1:18
PM
Orange
Sabine River
Authority of
Authority
General Office,
Tuesday, August 31, 2004, 2:00 – 5:00 PM
Welcome & Introductions
(Ann Galassi,
Notebook Handouts (Miles
Hall, SRA)
Meeting notes unanimously approved (with correction to a minor typos).
Project Status Reports (Ward
Most of the monitoring effort is completed: four three-day intensive surveys (two per bayou) and three rainfall event samplings (two on Cow Bayou and one on Adams Bayou). The only lacking sampling is a rainfall event sampling on Adams Bayou.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is
contracting with
Q. Is Cryptosporidium tested in Cow and
A. No. It is too expensive. We measure most probable number per 100 ml for E. Coli.
Q. Is Fecal Coliform/ Fecal Strep ration used?
A. It has been in the past, but there are problems with that method. Enterococcus is used in salt water.
Q. How have control measures been used to human vs. non-human sources of E. Coli?
A. We’ve done studies that indicate we’re measuring E. Coli from human waste; it is a good indicator in the Orange County TMDL Project study area.
Q. Can we use the new
virus sampling method without modifying the Quality Assurance Project Plan?
A. No. The sampling results will be used to increase public interest in the project and to show something that can’t be shown within the scope of the project.
Q. Will results of new
virus sampling method be used in the model?
A. No. This sampling will provide additional information to consider after the completion of the project.
Note made that wastewater treatment methods don’t generally treat viruses.
Q. Has data made it to
the model yet?
A. No. Many tests from the recent intensive surveys are still in progress in the SRA laboratory. Also, data still needs to go through quality assurance checks prior to going to the model.
Q. Could Orange County Drainage District (OCDD) cleanup projects on Cow Bayou have affected the intensive surveys?
A. No. They were cutting trees on the bank; no digging was done in the bayou.
Q. Do lower levels of
sediment oxygen demand (SOD) measured in intensive surveys as compared to
historical studies indicate an improvement?
A. Possibly. There is no documentation of methods used in previous studies, so data may not be comparable.
A draft document with model results should go to TCEQ by this Fall.
Q. Will it allocate
loads between point and non-point sources?
A. Yes.
Q. Are oxygen levels
higher in the rainy season than without rain?
A. It depends. If rain stirs up the water (mixes it) you can get higher readings. If rain pushes nutrients down, you can see it drop. This is why rainfall event samplings measure throughout the extent of the affects of the rainfall on the bayous.
Q. Are segments
modeled by accounting for changes in hydrology such as tributaries coming in?
A. Yes. The model is “spatially resolved.”
Q. In regards to
sediment,
A. We have a site at the confluence of each bayou.
Q. Was there
contamination of sediment due to dredging for navigation?
A. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) must do an environmental impact study prior to depositing dredge material.
Q. Do we know what
happened to sediment dredged out of
A. No, we have no data for that.
Q. Why are SOD
measurements generally higher in the north?
A. Due to colloidal effect with salt water.
Oxygen demanding organic materials in the bayous break down (do not have long half lives).
This study does not look at
Sampling Results (Jerry Wiegreffe, SRA)
Q. Could the construction
on
A. No. Most of sampling was done above Hudson Gully.
Q. Where were E.
Coli values above Stream Standards in the
intensive surveys?
A. At the Terry Gully site.
Q. Are there any major
discharges on
A. No.
Q. Have there been any
surprises with the sampling results that stand out?
A. No, the results have been what we expected.
Q. Did we expect
bacteria to go up with rainfall events?
A. We thought it was a possibility. We need to look at the model, but typically due to non-point sources.
Q. Have we considered
looking at percent saturation and not just dissolved oxygen?
A. Yes, we measure percent saturation and the model looks at it.
Q. Have we considered
doing a use attainability analysis (UAA) to determine appropriate aquatic life
use?
A. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is doing a Tidal Streams UAA that includes Cow Bayou.[1]
Q. What is the
sampling period of the tidal streams UAA?
A. April 2003 to November 2004.
Fresh water has a well-established biotic index. There is no standard for estuaries because they are much more complex. TPWD is going to try to develop a method for looking at tidal streams.
Outreach Committee Draft Plan (SAG Member Robert Dupree)
Q. Should elected
officials be added to the list of target audiences?
A. Yes.
Q. Can model be used
to evaluate different possible management solutions?
A. Yes, but it does not “spit out an answer”.
Focus of the Outreach effort is to make the public aware of why we are where we are; what the standards are; and how they are applied. Need to emphasize the improvements that have been made in water quality nation-wide since the 1972 Clean Water Act. We’re going to where the public has said they want to be: fishable/ swimable waters.
Public Comment/ Discussion (Ann Galassi, SRA)
No comments.
Planning for Next Meeting (Ann Galassi, SRA)
The next SAG/TAG meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 16, 2004, from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM at the SRA Authority General Office. Potential presentations and topics of discussion include January 10, 2005, Public Meeting[2], sampling results update, and possibly at least preliminary modeling results.
[1] http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/texaswater/coastal/uaa/uaa.phtml, referenced September 7, 2004.
[2] Public Meeting date moved from January 11, 2005, to January 10, 2005, due to a scheduling conflict at Lamar State College Orange.