Analysis of Water Quality Trends and Pollutant Loading for Cypress Creek Watershed

摘要

Lake Houston serves as the primary drinking water source for the City of Houston.Water quality is a problem in Lake Houston due to pollutant loads coming from theinfluent watersheds, therefore hydrologic models and water quality predictions arekey to the operation of the City of Houston drinking water treatment plants. CypressCreek is one of the watersheds that drains into the lake and has mixed use includingurban and agriculture. Rapid urban development is a concern to the water quality ofLake Houston. Water quality issues of potential concern for the lake include nutrientenrichment and aquatic life use. Statistical trend analysis and loading curves havebeen analyzed using data collected by the USGS at 2 sites in Cypress Creek withcorresponding City of Houston water quality data at the sites for the past 10 years tocharacterize the behavior of the pollutant source and watershed.