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Lower Laguna Madre (South) and Brownsville Ship Channel Watershed Protection Plan Development

Multiple projects were implemented in which water quality data was collected and analyzed to characterize the southern portion of the Lower Laguna Madre/Brownsville Ship Channel (LLMBSC) watershed and developed a watershed protection plan (WPP).

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Project Area

River Basin: Bays and Estuaries

Water Bodies: Brownsville Ship Channel (2494), Port Isabel Fishing Harbor (2494A), Main drainage ditches flowing into Brownsville Ship Channel (2494B), minor drainage ditches flowing into Brownsville Ship Channel, San Martin Lake (2494C), minor drainage ditches draining directly to the Lower Laguna Madre (2491C), and South Bay (2493)

Location: Cameron County

Background

The southern portion of the LLMBSC watershed, consists of the coastal regions between the Arroyo Colorado and Rio Grande watersheds, and includes the City of Brownsville and numerous townships in the surrounding area. Most of these watersheds drain to the Brownsville Ship Channel and then to the Lower Laguna Madre.

Portions of the Lower Laguna Madre do not meet water quality standards for aquatic life use because of low levels of dissolved oxygen and water quality standards for primary contact recreation use due to high levels of fecal bacteria. In 2016, a watershed partnership was formed and involved stakeholders to develop a WPP to address water quality issues.

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Project Descriptions

February 2014 – August 2018

As the first phase of characterizing the LLMBSC watershed, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Texas Water Resources Institute established a watershed stakeholder group, gathered existing geospatial data, maps, and water quality information. They identified data gaps and conducted water quality monitoring at two sites to fill the data gaps.

September 2017 – October 2022

University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) implemented the second phase of the watershed characterization by collecting water quality and flow data from three sites on the main tributaries draining to Brownsville Ship Channel.

The intent of data collection was to delineated drainage patterns in the watershed and subwatersheds and develop a model to simulate existing and future pollutant contributions to the Ship Channel and Lower Laguna Madre by subwatershed, however this part of the project was not completed.

UTRGV assigned a watershed coordinator to facilitate stakeholder input and involvement in WPP development, which included a public education component on WPPs and watersheds to cultivate involvement.

November 2019 – October 2022

UTRGV built a physical model of the LLMBSC watershed and used it to provide local education and outreach. They held stakeholder meetings to gain local support and involvement in the WPP development.

UTRGV planned to continue data collection at the three tributary sites and an additional sampling location at San Martin Lake to contribute to modeling efforts, however these actions were not completed.

The LLMBSC WPP was not completed.

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For More Information

Lower Laguna Made/Brownsville Ship Channel Watershed Partnership website

To find out more about the NPS Program, call 512-239-6682 or email us at nps@tceq.texas.gov.

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