CRWR Online Report 2002-1
Integrated Geospatial Database for Total Maximum Daily
Load Modeling Lavaca Bay - Matagorda Bay Coastal Area
By Jordan Furnans, David Maidment, and Ben Hodges
ABSTRACT
Lavaca Bay is a micro-tidal estuary located along the Texas
Gulf Coast near Point Comfort, TX and Port Lavaca, TX. It is a secondary bay
that exchanges flow with Matagorda Bay, which in turn exchanges flow with the
Gulf of Mexico. The bay is currently listed on the Texas 303(d) list for mercury
contamination, low dissolved oxygen, and pathogens. In order to remediate the
Bay, the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC) must develop and
implement a Total Maximum Daily Load
(TMDL) for each of these three pollution problems. The TMDL development process
often involves sampling and watershed/waterbody modeling, and is highly
dependent upon the pollutants and the area involved. For example, the main
source of mercury contamination within Lavaca Bay is suspected to be derived
from the “Dredge Island” created by the ALCOA Alumina & Chemicals
facility in Point Comfort. The TMDL modeling for mercury must address the
potential contaminant movement from that source location, and therefore must
involve hydrodynamic modeling. TMDL modeling for dissolved oxygen must be of a
different form, because the main source of the
hypoxia is likely to be non-point source pollution. Therefore, the TMDL process
for dissolved oxygen must be more dependent upon watershed and runoff modeling.
This report describes data and modeling techniques that are applicable to TMDL
development for Lavaca Bay.
CRWR Online Report 2002-1
Integrated Geospatial Database for Total Maximum Daily Load Modeling
Lavaca Bay - Matagorda Bay Coastal Area
By Jordan Furnans, David Maidment, and Ben Hodges
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