Water worries

The Rio Grande Valley’s mighty river, winding waterway and environmentally sensitive bay all have segments with pollution problems that could impact people and marine life, according to a state list of impaired water bodies.

Portions of the Rio Grande, the Arroyo Colorado and the Laguna Madre have low dissolved oxygen and high bacteria levels, and in some areas the problem is growing, says a report released in June by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The agency issues its Texas Water Quality Inventory every two years, along with a list of water bodies that have segments out of compliance with federal water-quality standards.

In the latest inventory, TCEQ used water-sampling data from 1999 to 2004 to determine which waterways were out of compliance, said Brenda Archer, water-quality monitoring team leader for TCEQ.

“It’s a summary of the problems we found,” Archer said. “We’re trying to handle everything on the list, looking at how we can improve water quality or get more information about the problem.”

Arroyo Colorado

According to TCEQ’s 2006 water-quality inventory — the newest report — the troubled Arroyo Colorado, which originates in Mission and empties into the Laguna Madre, continues to have significant pollution problems. The freshwater segment of the waterway for years has had high levels of fecal coliform bacteria — indicating the presence of human or animal waste in the water — but the 2006 list says the problem might have extended downstream to the portion that mixes with the Laguna Madre.

Then again, it’s possible that heavy rains in 2001 skewed the data, suggested Rocky Freund, deputy executive director for the Coastal Bend division of the Nueces River Authority. The agency is in charge of gathering water-sample data for the Lower Nueces-Rio Grande Coastal Basin, which includes the Arroyo Colorado.

“Whenever there’s a rain event, it causes a lot of runoff … which can cause a spike in bacteria,” Freund said.

The downstream portion of the arroyo also is plagued with low dissolved-oxygen levels, choking out fish and marine life.

The arroyo’s pollution problems are so severe that the Environmental Protection Agency has required the development of a “watershed protection plan” to address the causes. The plan is a more workable solution than imposing strict regulations on the waterway that would be impossible to meet right now, TCEQ officials have said.

Several elements have combined to make the arroyo polluted and toxic to fish, including agricultural runoff, discharge from wastewater-treatment systems and the proliferation of oxygen-choking plankton.

The completed Arroyo Colorado Watershed Protection Plan, submitted to TCEQ in January, proposes several projects to reduce polluted runoff and improve water quality, said Laura de la Garza, watershed coordinator. Those projects include upgrading wastewater plants along the arroyo, encouraging farmers to reduce agricultural discharges, constructing wetlands to treat runoff before it reaches the arroyo and increased water monitoring.

It could cost about $65 million to implement the projects proposed for the next decade, de la Garza has said. The money would come from state and federal grants, the North American Development Bank and cost-sharing agreements with cities along the arroyo.

NADBank already has funded a major wastewater-plant improvement project in San Benito, and other cities also have received some funding to update their wastewater plants, officials say.

Rio Grande

The Rio Grande made several appearances on TCEQ’s “impaired list,” but only a couple of segments are in the Rio Grande Valley area. Since 1996, the stretch between the Rancho Viejo floodway and the El Jardin Pump Station in Cameron County — about 7 miles of river — has been on the list for high bacteria levels, according to TCEQ.

A tributary of the Rio Grande — Arroyo Los Olmos in Starr County — also is on the list for bacteria.

Several segments of the Rio Grande in Zapata, Val Verde, Presidio and El Paso counties made the list for bacteria levels and dissolved solids.

A once-troubled section of the Rio Grande is faring better now, though, according to TCEQ data. In 2002, a segment of the river from the Pharr International Bridge to Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge was on the list for high bacteria levels, and the agency reported concerns over drinking water drawn from the area. That segment is off the 2006 list completely.

Although pollution problems persist in the Rio Grande, the situation is improving, said Carlos Rubinstein, Rio Grande watermaster and area director for TCEQ Region 15, which includes the Valley.

“We’ve had infrastructure improvements on both sides of the river and those will clearly assist in water quality,” Rubinstein said.

However, he added, those improvements might not be enough to get the Rio Grande off the impaired list completely. Many elements influence the Rio Grande’s water quality, and the United States only has partial control over those elements, he said.

Several cities in Mexico routinely discharge wastewater into the Rio Grande, and agricultural runoff also makes its way into the river, he said. Failing septic tanks, wildlife pressures and a variety of other polluters — even people overfertilizing their lawns — all contribute to the problem, Rubinstein said.

NADBank has recently funded wastewater-improvement projects in Ciudad Acuña, Nuevo Laredo, Matamoros and Reynosa, which could help improve the Rio Grande’s water quality, TCEQ officials said.

“We have the right kinds of investments in place,” said Steve Niemeyer, TCEQ policy analyst for border affairs.

Valley residents can make a difference in the Rio Grande’s water quality, Rubinstein said.

“Ask yourself, what am I doing to degrade the water quality?” he said. He suggested fixing ailing septic tanks, cleaning up after pets and carefully considering what chemicals you use on your lawn.

“What we do individually affects the river,” Rubinstein said.

Laguna Madre and Gulf of Mexico

The Laguna Madre is on the impaired list for two reasons: bacteria levels in oyster waters and low dissolved oxygen levels near the Arroyo Colorado.

Most of the state’s bays were put on the impaired list in 2006 because the Texas Department of State Health Services has concluded that oysters in the bays might contain bacteria or biotoxins like red tide. Harvesting oysters in all bays but Galveston Bay is currently prohibited, according to DSHS.

TCEQ plans to investigate bacteria contamination in the Laguna Madre’s oyster beds at some point in the future, Archer said.

The bay also has low oxygen levels at its confluence with the Arroyo Colorado. The state is currently trying to determine whether a shallow estuary system like the Laguna Madre should be subject to the same water-quality standards as other water bodies, or if those standards should be adjusted.

In earlier surveys, TCEQ determined the bay is still safe for recreational and general use.

The Gulf of Mexico also appears on TCEQ’s list because of mercury levels in one type of fish — the king mackerel. DSHS issued an advisory in 1997 that people should limit intake of king mackerel from the Gulf.

One water-quality parameter has improved in the Gulf, according to TCEQ — the coastal waters are no longer on the list for having low dissolved-oxygen levels. That means aquatic life, which needs dissolved oxygen to survive, can flourish in the Gulf.

Rubinstein, of TCEQ, suggested that residents and visitors to the Valley’s water bodies keep the survey results in mind when swimming, fishing or wading. Some areas are polluted, but others are well within healthy limits, he said.

“Use this data when you’re choosing where to recreate,” Rubinstein said. “Any area where there is an impairment, take that into consideration.”