Public meetings set September 13 and 20 to address protection of water quality in Lavon Lake watershed

WYLIE, TX – The North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD), Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, and the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board are partnering with local stakeholders, business owners, and citizens to help improve and protect water quality in Lavon Lake through the development of a watershed protection plan (WPP). Watershed protection plans are a voluntary (non-regulatory) approach for addressing water quality issues, and have been developed in a number of watersheds throughout the state.

Lavon Lake is the uppermost reservoir on the East Fork of the Trinity River and provides drinking water to more than 1.6 million residents in North Texas. The 491,520 acres that drain into the lake, known as the Lavon Lake watershed, includes parts of Collin, Fannin, Grayson, and Hunt counties. Major tributaries to the lake include the East Fork of the Trinity River, Indian Creek, Pilot Grove Creek, Sister Grove Creek, and Wilson Creek.

Lavon Lake has been monitored since 1971 by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and NTMWD.

There are no impairments to water quality that have been identified in the lake; however, the most recent Texas Integrated Report of Surface Water Quality – which describes the condition of all monitored streams in the state – showed elevated levels of bacteria in the East Fork of the Trinity River above Lavon Lake and Wilson Creek. Although current treatment processes remove all bacteria, increases in other pollutants, such as nutrients, can lead to additional treatment costs.

“Increasing levels of bacteria, nutrients and other pollutants in runoff are a concern throughout the state,” said Galen Roberts, NTMWD Watershed Manager and coordinator for the Lavon Lake WPP project. “Our goal is to continue to protect water quality in the lake through development of a watershed protection plan with input from local communities.”

The public is invited to attend one of two WPP-kickoff meetings and join the Lavon Lake Watershed Partnership. Public meetings will be held Tuesday, Sept. 13 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Myers Park and Event Center located at 7117 County Road 166, McKinney, Texas 75071 and on Tuesday, Sept. 20 from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in the NTMWD Training Room located at 505 E. Brown Street, Wylie, Texas 75098. These kick-off meetings will inform participants about the quality of water in Lavon Lake, the primary drinking source for the area, and describe how a watershed protection plan can help protect this important water resource.

Through the planning process, local stakeholders, business owners, and citizens can help NTMWD to identify potential sources of water pollution and shape efforts to improve water quality. The ultimate goal of the WPP is to improve and protect water resources now, and into the future.

This project is funded through a state nonpoint source grant from the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board. Interested participants are encouraged to attend one of the scheduled kickoff meetings where the planning process will be described. Anyone can join the Lavon Lake Watershed Partnership, participate in all the future meetings, and provide input into the Lavon Lake Watershed Protection Plan.
For more information about the kickoff meetings, go to www.NTMWD.com/watershed-management.

About NTMWD

The North Texas Municipal Water District is a regional wholesale provider of water, wastewater and solid waste disposal services for approximately 1.6 million residents in the north Texas counties of Collin, Dallas, Denton, Fannin, Grayson, Hopkins, Hunt, Kaufman, Rains, and Rockwall – a service territory covering 2,200 square miles. For more information, visit www.NTMWD.com.