According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Williamson County is one of the fastest-growing counties in the nation. As a result, the watershed is going through rapid land use changes surrounding the major cities of Leander, Round Rock, Hutto, and Taylor. With the amount of development and population growth occurring in the watershed, a characterization project would help identify water quality issues that can be mitigated or improved upon before they become worse.
To address these issues, this project will analyze existing data to determine watershed and water quality data and pollutant sources. The process will include gathering previously collected water quality data, wildlife densities, and livestock estimates within the watershed. A search of available data for septic systems and wastewater and stormwater infrastructure will also be collected. If these data do not exist for this watershed, this information will be estimated using approaches similar to other watersheds. By collecting and analyzing these data in tandem, a conceptual model can be developed to show the linkage between the water quality problems and sources of impairments. A spatial and temporal visualization of water quality problems and sources of pollution in the watershed will be created using geographic information systems (GIS), and included in a final project report.
Due to limited flow data in the watershed, streamflow for Brushy Creek will need to be estimated to calculate Load Duration Curves (LDCs). For this project, qualitative streamflow estimation methods will be used.
Due to documented instances of primary contact recreation in impaired segments, stakeholder education is a priority in this project. General education delivery in the watershed will raise awareness about local water quality issues and will provide general education regarding causes, sources, impacts of and potential solutions to water quality impairments. In addition to these education programs, stakeholders will be engaged, when appropriate, to participate in characterizing the watershed.
