This is the
Sabine River Authority Water Quality Report for March 2004. Water quality
sampling was performed March 8th through March 11th.
Recent weather (previous seven days) in the Sabine
River Basin was cool, with daytime
high air temperatures from the mid 60s to the high 70s at Lake
Tawakoni and at Lake Fork.
Toledo Bend Reservoir and Orange
had daytime highs from the upper 50s to the low 80s. Lows ranged from the low 40s to the mid 60s
at Lake Tawakoni
and at Lake Fork.
Toledo Bend and Orange
had lows ranging from the mid 40s to the low 60s. Lake
Tawakoni and Lake Fork
exhibited weak stratification. During
the 28 days since the February sample run, the Upper
Basin received 4.26 and 4.47 inches of
rainfall, as recorded at Lake Tawakoni and Lake Fork,
respectively. The week prior to the
sample run, Lake Tawakoni
recorded 0.72 inches and Lake
Fork recorded 0.83 inches
of rain. Toledo Bend and Orange received 5.27 and
2.06 inches, respectively, during the 28 days preceding the sample run.
Upper Sabine Basin
Above Toledo Bend Including Lake Fork
and Lake Tawakoni
For the
March sample run, most parameter measurements at Upper Basin
sites were consistent with water of high quality. Nitrate and nitrite levels at LT23C were
above screening levels. Reservoir sites
LT23C, LT23D, LT23A, LF4 and LF2 had high levels of dissolved oxygen with
greater than 100 percent dissolved oxygen saturation, indicating algal
activity. LT23D exceeded screening
levels for chlorophyll a. Stream
water at BS9 was slightly below stream standards for pH. SR22 exceeded the numeric criteria for the
stream standards for E. coli.
Lower Sabine Basin
Including Toledo
Bend to Morgan Bluff
The March monthly sampling results were indicative of water
of high quality at most sites. The area
received close to an inch of rain in the week prior to the sample run. The level of Toledo Bend Reservoir was
recorded at 172.62 feet. Five gates at
the spillway were discharging and both generators were operating at the time of
sampling. Most reservoir sites were
showing signs of stratification, with pH and dissolved oxygen differences
throughout the water column. All parameters
recorded were within the stream standards for this section of the Basin.
Tidal Section of
the Sabine Basin below Morgan Bluff
Most sites sampled in the tidal
portion of the Sabine
Basin had values that are
consistent with water of high quality.
The tidal stations only received a trace of rain in the week prior to
the sampling event. Most sites in this
section of the Basin showed signs of stratification, but no anoxic conditions
were found at any tidal station. All
salinity readings were less than 1.0 ppt due to good downstream flows from
reservoir releases upstream. All
parameters recorded were within the stream standards for this section of the
Basin.
This Report and additional data
for these monitoring stations are available on our World Wide Web site (www.sra.dst.tx.us).
If you have any questions or comments concerning this report, please contact:
Ø
Upper Sabine Basin
Terry Wilson, Upper Basin Field Office Coordinator
903-878-2420 (twilson@sra.dst.tx.us)
Ø
Lower and Tidal Sabine
Basin
Jerry Wiegreffe, Lower Basin Field Office Coordinator
409-746-3284 (jwiegreffe@sra.dst.tx.us)
Ø
If above are unavailable
John Payne, Special Projects Administrator
409-746-2192 (jpayne@sra.dst.tx.us)
or
Miles Hall, Resource Management/ Project Development
Division Manager
409-746-2192 (mhall@sra.dst.tx.us)