The City of New Braunfels and its project partners are currently moving forward with the implementation of a Watershed Protection Plan (WPP) to address bacteria concerns in the Dry Comal Creek and Comal River watersheds. Phase One of the Dry Comal Creek/ Comal River WPP kicked off in August 2015 and included efforts to characterize the watershed, assemble a working stakeholder group and define bacteria load reductions needed to meet applicable water quality standards for bacteria. Phase Two involved continued stakeholder involvement, identification of bacteria management measures, and development of a watershed protection plan. The current implementation phase, which began in September 2018, will take the work plans developed during Phase Two and put those plans into action. Partners on the Dry Comal Creek/ Comal River WPP include the City of New Braunfels, ARCADIS, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) , Edwards Aquifer Authority and Guadalupe Blanco River Authority (GBRA).
Historical data collected by GBRA as part of ongoing Clean Rivers Program sampling identified Dry Comal Creek (Segment 1811A) as impaired for E.coli bacteria. Segment 1811A was initially included on the 303(d) list in 2010. In 2011, the City of New Braunfels proactively initiated a bacteria monitoring program on Dry Comal Creek to supplement data collected as part of the Clean Rivers Program monitoring conducted by GBRA. The City of New Braunfels also initiated a supplemental bacteria monitoring program on the Comal River to address increasing bacteria levels in the Comal River watershed. A preliminary bacteria source tracking (BST) analysis was conducted in 2013 to help identify potential bacteria sources on the Dry Comal Creek and the Comal River. The preliminary BST analysis indicated significant contributions from wildlife. In 2014, GBRA added an additional monitoring location on the Comal River in Landa Park, upstream of the confluence with Dry Comal Creek, to help assess the impact of elevated Dry Comal Creek bacteria concentrations on the Comal River. The project team is utilizing all existing water quality data from the Dry Comal Creek and Comal River to support water quality modeling efforts and to help identify bacteria loading trends. Water quality data collected by the GBRA on the Dry Comal Creek and the Comal River as part of the Clean Rivers Program can be found on the GBRA website found at this link: GBRA Clean Rivers Program Water Quality Monitoring Locations and Data in Comal County.
The project team produced a draft WPP that was presented to the stakeholders at the meeting on June 22nd, 2017. The draft WPP was submitted to TCEQ for review on August 23, 2017. The final version of the WPP was approved by the EPA in mid-September 2018. The final version of the Dry Comal Creek and Comal River Watershed Protection Plan can be accessed by following the link below:
