TR-526 Watershed Characterization of the Thompsons Creek Watershed
Authors: Anna Gitter, Mohneesh Nayal, Jacqueline Rambo, Luna Yang, Lucas Gregory
The Thompsons Creek watershed lies in the greater Brazos River above Navasota watershed and includes three tributaries that are listed as impaired. The three tributaries, including portions of Cottonwood Branch (1242B_01 and 1242B_02), Still Creek (1242C_02) and Thompsons Creek (1242D_01 and 1242D_02) are all identified as impaired for elevated concentrations of Escherichia coli (E. coli) in the 2020 Texas Integrated Report of Surface Water Quality for the Clean Water Act Sections 305(b) and 303(d). Elevated concentrations of E. coli have been identified in the watershed since as early as 2002. This characterization addresses the E. coli impairments in the Thompsons Creek watershed with supplementary water quality monitoring and a review of the current demographic, climatic, physical and hydrological conditions of the watershed. Existing data for water quality parameters, flow, livestock, wildlife, stormwater permits and a number of on-site sewage facilities have been analyzed to develop a better understanding of potential causes and sources of bacteria pollution. Future work for the watershed will include continued water quality and flow monitoring and meeting with local stakeholders to discuss objectives to address the bacteria impairments in the watershed.
