Project Goals/Objectives: This project will coordinate assistance to the Lampasas River Watershed Partnership through regular stakeholder meetings to encourage citizen participation, provide partners with updates on progress, and seek stakeholder input and recommendations on needed activities. Water resources and related environmental outreach and educational workshops will be conducted across the watershed. Water quality conditions will be communicated to the public and the Lampasas River Watershed Parnership in order to support adaptive management and to expand public knowledge about the Lampasas River watershed.
Project Background: The Lampasas River (Segment 1217) rises in western Hamilton County, 16 miles west of Hamilton and flows southeast for 75 miles. The river courses through Hamilton, Lampasas, Burnet and Bell Counties. In Bell County the river turns northeast and is dammed five miles southwest of Belton to form Stillhouse Hollow Lake (Segment 1216). Below Stillhouse Hollow Lake, the Lampasas River flows to its confluence with Salado Creek and the Leon River to form the Little River.
According to the 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008 Texas Water Quality Inventory and 303(d) List, the Lampasas River above Stillhouse Hollow Lake is impaired by elevated bacteria concentrations and does not meet Texas Surface Water Quality Standards for contact recreation although, the Lampasas River was not listed on the 2010 Integrated Report. This delisting occurred because there was no additional data available for assessment from 2000 until late 2009. Existing historical data no longer met the thresholds in TCEQ’s assessment methodology. However, there are several water quality monitoring efforts within the watershed that have collected samples on a more intensive basis and this data will be available for future Integrated Reports.
AgriLife Research and TSSWCB established the LRWP in November 2009 as part of TSSWCB project 07-11, Lampasas River Watershed Assessment and Protection Project. Through this project, land use / land cover data was updated, water quality modeling using existing data was conducted, and a WPP was developed to address the bacteria impairment. The development of a WPP was a stakeholder driven process facilitated by AgriLife Research that identified water quality issues and potential sources of bacterial impairments as well as identified responsible parties, implementation milestones and estimated financial costs for individual management measures and outreach and education activities. The plan also described the estimated load reductions expected from full implementation of all management measures.
The draft Lampasas River Watershed Protection Plan was released for public comment in January 2013 and was finalized in Spring 2013. The goal of this project is to continue to raise awareness in the local watershed communities about the WPP and local citizens’ impacts on water quality.
Project Location: Lampasas River Watershed (Segment 1217)
Website: http://www.lampasasriver.org
Project Costs: Federal ($268,324); Non-Federal Match ($178,790); Total Project ($447,114)
Project Participation: TSSWCB and Texas A&M AgriLife Research
Past Projects: Lampasas River Watershed Assessment and Protection Project (07-11)
Project Workplan: 12-09
Final Report: 12-09
Project Workplan: 14-07
Final Report: 14-07
Project Workplan: 17-05
Final Report: 17-05