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In 1989, the Texas State Soil and
Water Conservation Board designated the Upper North
Bosque River as the top priority for agricultural nonpoint
source (NPS) pollution abatement efforts.
The Bosque River watershed
offers scientists the opportunity to examine major sources
of point and nonpoint source pollutants including:
- Intensive livestock operations
impacts
- Ranching runoff
- Row crop agriculture impacts
- Urban runoff
- Municipal wastewater point source
discharges
As a result of the water quality
issue raised, TIAER designed and implemented a sophisticated
watershed monitoring program to gauge the effects of
BMP use on water quality. TIAER has been Funded through
the United States Department of Agriculture Natural
Resources Conservation Service to demonstrate the integration
of community involvement with scientific information
in identifying, assessing, and implementing ways to
meet water quality targets using Lake Waco and streams
within the Bosque River watershed as an example. TIAER
selected sampling sites to provide baseline controls,
to evaluate areas impacted by various agricultural activities,
and to distinguish these impacts from traditional municipal
sources.
Moreover, the watershed constitutes
a policy formulation case study concerning the cost-effectiveness
of water quality initiatives. The state environmental
regulatory agency, Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality (TCEQ), has developed an implementation plan
for the North Bosque River phosphorus TMDL, which aims
to reduce soluble reactive phosphorus loadings.
Papers
These papers address the entire
watershed. Click on areas of the map for research about
specific areas.
Semiannual Water Quality Report for the Bosque River Watershed, January 1, 1997 - December 31, 2001, The intent of this report is to provide the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC) with a semiannual update on water quality data collected by the Texas Institute for Applied Environmental Research (TIAER) in the Bosque River watershed from January 1, 1997 to December 31, 2001.
Meteorological Data for Erath and Northern Hamilton Counties, Texas, January through December, 2001, The Texas Institute for Applied Environmental Research (TIAER) at Tarleton State University, Stephenville, Texas has been conducting studies of environmental impact on surface water quality as a result of storm water runoff from dairy operations since summer 1990. This series of meteorological data reports is intended to document the installation and operation of meteorological data collection sites and to provide the meteorological data stored on diskette in digital format. This report provides meteorological data from January through December 2001.
Hydrological Data for the Bosque River Watershed, The intent of this report is to document the installation and operation of hydrological data collection sites and to provide the hydrological data stored on diskette in digital format. This report provides hydrological data from January 1, 1998 through December 31, 1998.
Fisheries Survey of the Bosque River Watershed Above Lake Waco, From March 1998 through May 1998 field personnel from the Texas Institute for Applied Environmental Research (TIAER) sampled the fish populations at nine sites located in the Bosque River watershed above Lake Waco. This study was performed to compare present population assemblages with historical data and to determine degree of impairment.
Demonstration of Phosphorus Best Management Practices in the North Bosque River Basin, The effectiveness of selected phosphorus (P) best management practices in reducing phosphorus concentrations and loadings in runoff from fields high in soil P was evaluated using field plot demonstrations and computer modeling. Eight field plot demonstration sites about 0.4 ha (1 ac) in size were established on dairy waste application fields within the Goose Branch microwatershed of the North Bosque River. A paired watershed approach was used to evaluate improvements in edge-of-field runoff for five P management practices using control plots for pre- and post-BMP comparisons. APEX simulations comparing nutrient management of manure based primarily on P rather than N indicated decreases in average annual soluble and total P loads over a 30-year period of 40 to 60 percent depending on soil type and crop simulated.
Existing Nutrient Sources and Contributions to the Bosque River Watershed, Over about a two and a half-year period (November 1, 1995 March 30, 1998), flow and nutrients were monitored consistently at 17 sites in the Bosque River watershed, which includes the Middle and South Bosque drainage areas. An empirical model was developed to assess nutrient contribution by source using developed export coefficients for nonpoint sources and information from the eight permitted municipal wastewater treatment plants within the watershed for point source loadings. Sites within the South and Middle watersheds were important in determining nutrient contributions from row-crop agriculture.
Only the most recent versions are
listed, but you can make a request for historical information.
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