Comprehensive Overview of Water Quality in Texas

There is a large variety of water resources existing in Texas: rivers, lakes, aquifers, and coastal waters. The state depends very much on groundwater resources of the Ogallala Aquifer and the reservoirs as well as rivers as drinking water and sources of irrigation. Texas is one such state where the level of water quality is a major issue because of the high rate of population hike, industrialization, and farming runoff. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) on a monthly basis releases a report stating the status of water quality in the state, giving a picture of the water quality situation across geographical areas. Although there is continuous work to ensure that water is pure, the current conditions still present some problems, such as nutrient pollution, contaminants, and scarcity of water in some regions.

Texas Water Quality Challenges

Texas deals with several water quality issues that affect both surface and groundwater sources:

• Nutrient Pollution: Overfeeding of nutrients, mainly nitrogen and phosphorus, is a significant issue in most of the Texas lakes, rivers, and coastal landscapes. Nutrient loading is caused by agricultural runoff, wastewater discharges, and stormwater runoff that give rise to poor water quality and harmful algal blooms in bodies of water like Lake Livingston and the Gulf of Mexico.

• Contaminants of emerging concern: Texas is also under the threat of chemical, industrial, and pharmaceutical pollution, which is more difficult to get rid of using the conventional water treatment mechanisms. Such pollutants are present in not only drinking water but also surface water.

• Water shortage and salt intrusion: In the western regions of Texas, the issue of shortage of water is on the increase with the lack of fresh water. The rising of the sea level is exposing coastal regions to salt water intrusion which is threating fresh water aquifers that serve individuals in many societies with drinking water.

• Industrial and Oil-related Pollution: Big industry, especially oil and gas production, is a prominent cause of water pollution in Texas carried out by run off by gases, wastewater flows and spills. The oil-related pollution is especially affecting the Texas Coastal Zone and the settlements near Permian Basin.

State and Local Efforts to Improve Water Quality

Texas has made steps in addressing water quality through various state and local programs:

• Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ): TCEQ is virtually in the middle of things influencing and controlling water quality within the state. It monitors water quality requirements, water quality monitoring, pollution abatement plans, and water quality reporting in order to comply with the state and federal regulations.

• Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF): Texas is an active member of the CWSRF program, which provides money to its local governments to use on their projects that involve wastewater treatment, stormwater, and water quality improvement. This pot is used to enhance upgrading many kinds of infrastructure so as to mitigate pollution and to envisage better water quality.

• Watershed Protection Plans: Texas has come up with a number of watershed protection plans, whose role is to combat pollution sources in the respective watershed. The plans aim at lowering nutrient loading rates, enhanced stormwater management and recovery of water quality in regions like the San Antonio River Basin and the Texas Hill Country.

• Texas Water Development Board (TWDB): TWDB also deals in technical assistance and financing of improvement projects of water quality. It aids the communities to deal with bottlenecks on water scarcity, infrastructure and water conservation plans.

• Nonpoint Source Pollution Control: Strategies to control details of nonpoint source pollution, especially that of farm runoffs, have been established in Texas. These measures involve encouraging Best Management Practices (BMPs) among the farmers and ranchers to curb nutrient runoff and enhance the quality of water.

Impact of Climate Change on Water Quality

Climate change is expected to have significant impacts on water quality in Texas, exacerbating existing challenges and creating new ones:

• Rise in Droughts and Water Shortage: The impact of climate change in increasing droughts and water shortage is expected to be more and worse in Texas with limited supply of fresh water. This will impose extra pressure on water resources especially in the west and central sides of the state.

• Enhanced Heavy Rainfall and Stormwater Runoff: The heavy rainfall events and storms will become more intense due to increased frequency. This compounds runoff or run off issues, whereby the pollutants are washed into rivers, lakes and ocean waters. Regions such as Houston-Galveston region are susceptible to such a risk.

• Increasing temperature and algal bloom: The increase of water temperature may encourage the growth of harmful algae bloom that will result in the lack of oxygen, dead fish, and polluted water. The lakes and reservoirs of Texas such as Lake Texoma and Lake Livingston have a risk of increasing pollution by having more blooms.

• Saltwater Intrusion: The rising sea level of the Texas gulf coast increases the chances of saltwater interfering with drinking water wells due to intrusion of salt water into the fresh water aquifers. This has been an issue as it has been the case in Houston Galveston region.