Being Water Wise in North Texas

There is a lot of water in our world. In fact, the Earth's surface is 70% water. But only 1% of that water is freshwater and can be used for drinking water, and most of that freshwater is in the form of ice and snow in Antarctica and the North Pole. That means that less than 1 of every 100 drops of water on Earth can be used by humans.

Thanks to the water cycle, our water sources (rivers, lakes and groundwater) are refilled by rain or snow. The water cycle describes how Earth's water is not only always changing forms, between liquid (rain), solid (ice), and gas (vapor), but also moving on, above, and into the Earth. This process is happening continuously.

Beginning in the oceans, as the water surface heats up from warm air and sunlight, the liquid water turns into gas, known as water vapor, and rises into the atmosphere - a process called 'evaporation.' As water vapor rises into the cooler atmosphere, it turns back to tiny liquid drops and forms clouds (condensation), then water returns to Earth as rainfall, or in solid form as ice or snow (precipitation). Once the precipitation hits the Earth's surface, it either absorbs into the ground or flows over the surface into the nearest river or lake, and ends up back in the ocean, restarting the water cycle.

Check out the interactive Water Cycle graphic on the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) website for  Elementary ,  Middle School  or  High School  students.

Lesson plans for 4th - 6th graders on "The Water Cycle" are available at the  Take Care of Texas website .

As water falls back to earth as precipitation, it ALWAYS falls on a watershed! A 'watershed' is all the land area that drains or funnels to a single point, such as a river, lake or ocean. Think of a watershed as a bathtub - as the showerhead "rains" water at the back of the tub (or watershed), the water flows to the "drain hole." Different watersheds are separated by elevated land features, known as divides, that cause water to flow downhill in certain directions due to gravity. Water that infiltrates into the ground will either move deeper into the earth and replenish an aquifer, or continue to flow downhill through the ground and may come back to the surface and flow out adding water to a creek, river or lake. 

It is important to remember that we are always in a watershed, and that our daily activities can either help or hurt the quality of water in the creeks, rivers and lakes that receive that water flow.

If we think of Lewisville Lake as the drain hole, precipitation that falls across most of Denton County may either absorb into the ground (infiltration) or flow across the surface (runoff) to the nearest creek or river and ultimately, into Lewisville Lake.

Watersheds come in all sizes from hundreds of square miles, such as the Lewisville Lake watershed, to less than an acre. Most of Denton County drains into Lewisville Lake, and the watershed for Lewisville Lake is larger than all of Denton County and includes parts of surrounding counties.

The lesson plan for Grades 4 - 6, "Watershed Survey," can be found on the  Take Care of Texas websit e.

Check out this video from the Texas Section of the American Water Works Association as they explain what a watershed is. If it is not working properly, click on the link to go to YouTube.

What is your watershed address? You can find out by visiting the Texas Parks and Wildlife  Watershed Viewer . Zoom into your local area and click on where your school or home is to find out what watershed you are in. Uncheck "Sub Watersheds" to see the larger watershed that you are in. If you have trouble using this viewer application, visit  Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Watershed Viewer website .

Questions to consider with your classmates:

What major river or lake does the water from your school or neighborhood flow to?

Who takes care of the watershed you live in?

Watch Shelly with the  Lewisville Independent School District - Outdoor Learning Area  as she conducts a watershed model demonstration. The watershed model shows how water flows from high elevations to lower elevations in a watershed. The model also demonstrates how different land uses and human activities can result in more pollutants ending up in waterways and waterbodies and how we can each do our part to keep pollutants out of the water.

This video was produced by the LISDOLA staff. If the video does not play properly, you can watch it on  YouTube .

The water that humans use needs to be clean enough to meet our daily needs, such as drinking, bathing and cooking, but also for recreation, irrigation and to support creatures that live in the water (aquatic life). 

Water quality is the term used to describe the chemical, physical and biological parameters of water. Dissolved oxygen, pH, fecal bacteria and nutrients are examples of chemical parameters in water. Temperature, stream flow and total suspended solids are examples of physical parameters in water. Aquatic vegetation and benthic macroinvertebrates (bottom-dwelling organisms that do not have a backbone) are examples of biological parameters. 

Monitoring these parameters over time is important for knowing if a waterbody is becoming more polluted and can indicate possible sources of the pollution.

Pollution happens when too much of a substance is present in the water that can negatively affect the quality of water and can harm people and aquatic life. Examples of pollutants (pollution-causing substances) include bacteria & viruses, sediment, nutrients, and toxic & hazardous substances.

Point source pollution comes from a clearly defined point and source, such as a pipe that may come from a factory. (See photo on the right.)

Nonpoint source pollution does not come from a clearly defined point, but can come from many different points in the landscape, such as overland flow from a farm, ranch, golf course or lawn. The exact source of the pollution is not easily identified and nonpoint source pollution is much harder to control than point source pollution. 

Lesson plans for "Water Pollution," "Aquatic Food Web," "Physical, Chemical, or Biological Properties" of water for Grades 4 - 6 can be found at the  Take Care of Texas website .

How do we know when pollution is happening or getting worse? In Texas, many different organizations monitor and test the quality of water in creeks, rivers and lakes for pollutants. By monitoring and testing water quality parameters often, researchers can see if pollution is increasing or decreasing over time and work to fix the problem.

So what is tested for in the water? Some water parameters can be monitored directly in the waterbody, while for others, water samples must be collected and analyzed in a laboratory to determine how much of a pollutant is present in a waterbody.

Water parameters that are tested for directly in waterbodies include: Water Temperature, Water Velocity (flow speed), pH (acidity), Dissolved Oxygen, and Conductivity (amount of dissolved material in the water), just to name a few.

Water parameters that require lab testing will be collected in a sample bottle and taken to a lab. These include: Fecal Bacteria (E coli), Nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus), Turbidity (sediment levels), and Chlorophyll-a (algae concentrations). 

When certain water parameters are present in excessive amounts beyond what is normal, the resulting imbalance can cause pollution in the water. For example, nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus naturally occur in water, but when excess levels of nutrients are added to the water from fertilizers or other sources, the excess nutrients may lead to high vegetative growth and algae blooms that can harm aquatic life.

Photo to the right is an example of measuring stream flow velocity.

In Texas, the  Texas Commission on Environmental Quality  (TCEQ) establishes the water quality standards for creeks, rivers and lakes in Texas. These water quality standards are set in place so that each waterbody can meet its "designated uses". Examples of designated uses that may be assigned to a waterbody include:

 - Aquatic Life Use

- Public Water Supply

- Contact & Non-Contact Recreation (i.e. swimming)

- Fish and Shellfish Consumption

- General Use

The water quality standards also contain certain criteria, or indicators, that will be used to determine if the water quality is suitable for the designated use. The criteria are normally given as numeric levels for how high or low certain parameters should be in the water. If a waterbody does not meet the standards placed on it due to high pollutant levels, it is considered "impaired."

For example, for a creek or lake with a primary contact recreation use, the maximum level for fecal bacteria in the water is 126 colony forming units (cfu) per 100 mL. Readings consistently above this level will result in the waterbody being considered impaired. Impaired waterbodies must be restored through certain watershed activities to identify pollutant sources and to reduce pollutant levels to meet the water quality standards.

You can use the  TCEQ Surface Water Quality Viewer  to see if any waterbodies in your local area are impaired. The red shaded waterbodies in the image to the right are impaired, as shown in the Water Quality Viewer. This feature may work best on a desktop or laptop. Be sure to refer to the  TCEQ website for the user guide  and other information about this Viewer. 

Questions to consider:

Are any waterbodies in your local area impaired? 

What pollutant is causing the impairment?

What might be the source of the pollution?

The way that humans use and change the landscape can have major impacts on water quality and quantity. "Land use" refers to how the land is used and includes activities such as:

• Agriculture (Farms and ranches)
• Urban (Neighborhoods, buildings and roads)
• Industry
• Recreation (Parks, wildlife management, etc.)

"Land cover" refers to the biological and physical features or properties of the land surface. Examples of land cover include:

• Forests
• Neighborhooods
• Parking lots and buildings
• Farms
• Ranches
• Native Prairies

In this section, we will focus on what happens in a watershed and what pollutants could potentially be added when natural land covers (forests, grasslands) are converted to agricultural or urban areas. We will then focus on the importance of the types of vegetation in a watershed. 

First, let's watch a video of the Denton County Master Gardeners demonstrating their Rainfall Simulator, showing how water flows on different land uses.

In this video, the Denton County Master Gardeners demonstrate a rainfall simulator showing how rainwater flows on four different types of land uses. The land use and vegetation above ground will determine whether more water runs off the surface or will absorb, or infiltrate, into the ground.

This is a demonstration that the Master Gardeners and UTRWD can provide to school groups in-person upon request. Visit the  DCMGA website  or  UTRWD website  for more information. If the video does not play properly, you can watch it on  YouTube .

Streams include everything from small creeks all the way to large rivers, and are influenced by the amount of water and sediment (soil) in the stream, and by the vegetation in the water and along the bank.

To this point, you should understand that the ways in which we manage or change our watershed surfaces and our daily activities can have an impact on the amount of water that reaches the stream and the quality of the water in the stream. In thinking of watersheds as funnels or bathtubs, the streams are the point to where water flows or funnels to.

Later sections will discuss specific ways that urbanization and agricultural activities can cause stream erosion, and practices that can be done to reduce erosion.

The video to the right explains how water flows in streams and how changes in the watershed, such as urbanization, can cause erosion in the stream. As more and more water flows to the stream in an urban area than what was natural, the stream expands by eroding its banks to carry the extra water. Depending on the soil type, the stream may widen or deepen or do both. The concern with this excessive erosion is that sediment may flow downstream and deposit in a lake or reservoir, which will reduce the amount of water that can be held in the lake. This is not good since we rely on these lakes as our drinking water sources. Erosion can also threaten homes and buildings that were built too close to the stream.

The best way to protect streams and reduce erosion are the green stormwater infrastructure practices and proper agricultural practices listed in the following sections. Cities are encouraged to prevent the building of homes and other structures in the floodplain, especially near the creek. Allowing natural vegetation to grow is very important as the root systems hold the soil in place and prevent erosion, as you can see in the photo below.

The video to the right was produced by the Tarrant Regional Water District. You can also view the video on their  YouTube channel .

Upper Trinity partnered with the University of North Texas to develop three lesson plans with accompanying videos and guidebooks. The videos for these lesson plans can be viewed here, and the lesson plans and guidebooks are available for free and can be requested in our online Request Form below.

Why are Streams Dynamic? - (Video to the right.) This lesson covers what a stream is and why they are dynamic or change often. After completing the lesson plan and viewing this video, students will be able to identify the components of a stream and what they imply about stream health. Students will identify what makes a stream healthy and stable and what role humans play in keeping their water healthy.

What Can Macroinvertebrates Tell Us About Water Quality? - Streams are dynamic ecological systems that support a diverse array of life when water quality is good. Finding different macroinvertebrate species present in a stream can tell you is water quality is good or bad. In this lesson video, you will learn how to use a leaf pack in a stream to collect macroinvertebrates.

Native Plants vs. Non-Native Plants in Water Usage - Students will discover the benefits of native plants in contrast to non-native plants. They will identify differences in water usage between native and non-native plants and they will learn to identify characteristics of drought resistant plants.

Request any or all of the lesson plans on our online Request Form.

As cities grow, more and more land is covered by impervious surfaces, such as houses, roads, buildings and parking lots. Impervious surfaces are hard and do not allow water to infiltrate or pass through to the soil, which leads to more stormwater runoff that can cause greater flooding and erosion. That runoff can also carry many different types of pollutants that may be on the surface.

Common pollutants from urban areas include fertilizers and other chemicals that are used on lawns, pet waste, motor oil and other fluids, litter, grass clippings, leaves, and paints and other household items that may be dumped. Eroded sediment from construction areas are also common.

Stream erosion will be addressed in the next section, but some of the practices listed below will help to reduce stream erosion by capturing and holding some stormwater before it reaches the stream and by filtering out the pollutants. Practices that can reduce stormwater amounts and remove pollutants include:

Rainwater harvesting is the collection of rainwater from the roofs of homes or buildings that would normally run down the street and to the nearest stream. Rainwater costs nothing and can be used to water plants, instead of using city drinking water on plants.

Bioswales and rain gardens are low-lying vegetated features that can be placed along roads, homes, parking lots and other areas to capture rainwater as it runs off a paved area. In most cases, the water will flow into the bioswale/rain garden and infiltrate into the soil, which reduces the amount of water that flows to a stream and the soil and plant materials remove pollutants in the water.

Permeable pavements are surfaces that allow water to infiltrate and can be used in parking areas and other places to prevent using impervious concrete or asphalt.

In 2017, there were  141 million acres of working lands (agricultural, timber and wildlife management) in Texas . These lands are crucial for our society, producing food and fiber products that we need everyday. However, if not managed properly, these land uses can impact the water quality of waterbodies nearby.

The main pollutants that agriculture can potentially contribute to waterways are eroded soil, nutrients, bacteria and toxic chemicals. 

The two land uses that make up the majority of that 141 million acres are the two types of agriculture that we will focus on in this section: row-crop farming and livestock ranching.

Row-Crop Farming

On a typical farm, the native plants are removed in order to have a bare soil surface to plant seeds to grow crops.  In the process of growing crops, farmers often must apply fertilizers to the soil to provide nutrients for the plants to grow, spray pesticides to prevent insect populations from eating the crops, and spray herbicides to keep weeds or unwanted plants from competing with the desired crops.

However, when too much fertilizer, pesticide or herbicide is applied, the excess may be washed away during a rain storm to the nearest creek. These additional nutrients and chemicals can be very harmful or even toxic to aquatic life and water quality. 

In addition, when crops are not growing, the soil may be left bare with minimal or no plant cover for parts of the year. Without plant cover, soil is left exposed and vulnerable to erosion from wind and rain storms. Soil that is washed away during a rain storm will flow to the nearest waterbody, and may travel far downstream and end up in reservoirs. This excessive amount of eroded soil may not only have nutrients, chemicals, and bacteria bound to it, but as the soil settles at the bottom of reservoirs it can build up over time and reduce the amount of space available to hold water. 

As you can see in the photo on the right, a rain storm has come over this crop field and is eroding valuable top soil, potentially adding harmful fertilizers and pesticides to the nearest waterbody. 

In summary, farming can affect water quality by contributing nutrients, pesticides and other toxic chemicals, and eroded soil to waterbodies.

There are practices that farmers can do to benefit water quality. These practices include:

Cover Crops are plants that can be grown on crop fields when crops are not growing to slow erosion,  improve soil health , enhance water infiltration, prevent weed growth, and reduce pest problems on a farm.  Learn mor e.

Riparian Buffers (see photo on right and below) are vegetated strips lying between agricultural land and a neighboring waterway that slow down water flowing off the field, allowing it to infiltrate. Buffers can also trap sediment and filter out pollutants before reaching the waterway. These buffers may only need to be a few feet wide, but may be wider if needed. Buffers can also benefit farmers by allowing the plant roots to hold the stream banks in place and avoid the loss of valuable land to erosion.

Conservation Tillage is the practice of leaving dead plant material (residue) on the soil surface to reduce erosion. Farmers can plant seeds directly in the soil with a device attached to their tractor without having to break the soil. Not only does this practice reduce erosion, but also improves soil health and after a few years the farmer may not need to apply as much fertilizer as before.

Integrated Pest Management is the use of various strategies and tools to keep pest populations down without having to use large amounts of pesticide.

Nutrient Management is the precise application of fertilizers by only applying what the plants need, based on soil testing. Additional nutrient forms, such as livestock manure, may be used to add nutrients.

The main benefits of these activities are to protect the soil from erosion by keeping plant cover on the surface, and reducing the need for fertilizers and chemicals by improving  soil health .

Livestock production, especially cattle ranching, covers more land than any other agricultural activity in Texas. In Denton County, livestock production covers more than 260,000 acres, while cropland covers over 74,000 acres ( based on 2017 numbers ).

Ranching is similar to farming in that poor management will lead to a degraded, unhealthy landscape, while good management may lead to highly productive land that can greatly benefit water quality.

The main pollutants that livestock production can potentially contribute to waterways are eroded soil and bacteria.

The main ways that livestock can contribute these pollutants are by:

Overgrazing that leads to less plant cover could result in more bare soil, less infiltration, and more runoff and erosion.

Unlimited access to streams by cattle can lead to trampling of streambanks, combined with overgrazing of riparian areas, and result in more streambank erosion as reduced plant cover and heavy foot traffic can destabilize banks. Cattle in the streams can also deposit fecal matter leading to high levels of bacteria in the water.

Just as with farming, there are practices that ranchers can do to protect streambanks and water quality. These practices include:

Rotational grazing is when the cattle graze in a pasture for a short amount of time before being moved to the next pasture. This allows the plants time to recover and regrow and prevents overgrazing. It is also important for the rancher to not put too many cattle on the property, which is called overstocking.

Cattle like to spend more time in the low-lying riparian areas since there is shade from trees and water to drink. Alternative water and shade structures are important to keep cattle from spending a lot of time in the riparian areas by providing water and shade in other areas. This prevents overgrazing and deposition of fecal matter in or close to the stream. Some ranchers may prefer to put up a fence that prevents cattle from accessing the stream at all.

The main benefit of these and other practices are to keep the cattle from staying in one spot and overgrazing the area, allowing the plants to recover and for the land to act more like a sponge that water can infiltrate into easier. More infiltration means less runoff and erosion and fewer pollutants reaching the stream.

More specific management information for beef cattle, dairy cattle, horses, poultry and feral hogs can be found at the  Lone Star Healthy Streams website .

There are many easy ways you can protect water quality each and every day!

• Throw litter into a trash can and pick up litter on the ground when you can.
• Pick up your pet's waste to keep bacteria out of waterways.
• Reduce your use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides and follow the instructions on the label. Use organic alternatives instead.
• Keep grass clippings and leaves on the yard and out of the street to not get washed away into nearby waterways.
• Properly dispose of items such as paint, oils, cleaners, batteries and more through local Household Hazardous Water disposal programs.
• Don't flush medicines! Drop off at take-back locations such as police departments or pharmacies so they don't end up in our water supplies.
• Don't mow too low - leave the mower deck on the highest setting. Leave several feet of unmowed vegetation from creek banks.

Learn more at our  Watershed Protection webpage .