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HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 7074 J INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 7074 FTo the Mayor and Members of the City Council December 12, 1985 0 Subject: WATERSHED MANAGEMENT The need to protect the City's water supplies has long been recognized by the Fort Worth City Council to be of critical importance for the protection of the health and welfare of our community. An early example of positive water pollution control measures taken by the Council was the passage of Ordinance 4194 which declared the introduction of sewage or sewage effluent into Lake Worth to be a public nuisance. That ordinance authorizes and directs the Director of the Water Department to initiate appropriate actions, including injunctive relief, to stop the introduction of sewage into Lake Worth. In recent years growth and development within the watersheds of Fort Worth's other water supply reservoirs, especially Lake Benbrook and Eagle Mountain Lake, have been of increasing concern. Much of the more recent development outside the Fort Worth city limits is provided by privately-owned and operated wastewater treatment service accompanied with discharges of effluent into the area's water supplies. With proper treatment standards and operations these numerous, small wastewater treatment facilities would not necessarily pose a significant threat to the water quality of the reservoirs; however, there is some evidence to indicate that the present State permit standards are not adequate and that noncompliance with the existing permit conditions has not been aggressively enforced. No intensive water quality study has been performed on either Lake Benbrook or Eagle 00" ( Mountain Lake in at least five (5) years. The Texas Water Commission (TWC) is continuing to approve permits for the discharge of wastewater effluent apparently without considering the cumulative water quality effect of the existing permitted discharges. It is felt that the TWC should withhold its approval of proposed permits until: 1. the water quality studies for Lake Benbrook and Eagle Mountain Lake are updated, 2. these receiving waters are modelled to consider the critical pollutant loadings including nutrients and associated algal growth, 3. and, a determination is made of the appropriate permit factors and levels. Presently, when applications for additional or expanded local wastewater treatment facilities are filed with the Texas Water Commission, the staff reviews the plans to ascertain potential planning or water quality concerns. In most cases the staff has requested a public hearing with the Texas Water Commission to discuss the proposed plans. The City has worked closely with the Tarrant County Water Control and Improvement District No. 1 on water quality concerns and the district has also taken an active role in participating in the hearings. The issue of water quality protection was discussed extensively during the growth management workshops conducted last year. Since those discussions, the City Manager's office has appointed an interdepartmental Watershed Management Committee to address plans and policies to strengthen efforts to protect the water quality. In addition the City staff is participating through the North Central Texas Council of Governments in a regional watershed management study. ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 7074-p.2 December 12, 1985 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council B X Subject: WATERSHED MANAGEMENT 1873 As a part of the City's watershed management efforts under Section 26-177 of the Texas Water Code, every city having a population over 5,000 is required to establish a water pollution control and abatement program. The program must include the following services and functions: 1. the development and maintenance of an inventory of all significant waste discharges into or adjacent to the water within the program boundaries. Such boundaries must include the area inside the city limits and may include all or part of the extra-territorial jurisdiction. 2. the regular monitoring of all significant waste discharges included in the inventory. 3. the collecting of samples and the conducting of periodic inspections and tests to determine compliance with the State regulations. 4. in cooperation with the Texas Water Commission, a procedure for obtaining compliance with the State regulations. 5. the development and execution of reasonable and realistic plans for controlling generalized pollution such as erosion, and urban runoff. The City of Fort Worth water pollution control and abatement program is being administed in part by the Health Department and the Water Department. Unless additional resources are committed to the permitting process elements and enforcement by the State and/or local agencies, it is unlikely that the existing water quality will be maintained. ,Iouglas Harman city Manager DH.-hl -ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS