River Followup: Is The Water Safe?

In last Friday’s story about the explosion of vegeation recently in the Colorado River, we reported that the Lower Colorado River Authority attributes at least some of the vegetative growth to wastewater effluent released upstream. Most of that effluent comes from the City of Austin.

That caught the attention of at least one reader, who asked whether the water is safe for people fishing or paddling on the river.

We reached out to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality with this question. This is their response: “TCEQ partners with the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) to collect water quality samples at nine locations on the Colorado River between Austin and La Grange. Water quality sampling information includes measurements for temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, specific conductivity and water samples for dissolved solids, bacteria, and nutrients. TCEQ and LCRA continue to monitor water quality on the Colorado River to track changes in surface water quality.

“When increased amounts of nutrients, mainly nitrogen and phosphorus, enter bodies of water they can act like fertilizer, causing excessive growth of algae. Significant increases in algae can impact water quality, habitats, and decrease the amount of dissolved oxygen available to aquatic life.

“There is always some level of risk from the presence of algae, bacteria, parasites, and other hazards in any natural water body. The EPA’s website on Harmful Algae Blooms ( https://www. epa.gov/habs) provides precautions to protect people and pets recreating in natural waterbodies.

“For persons fishing in Texas, the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) has a Texas Fish Consumption Advisory interactive map with the locations of active fish consumption advisories ( https://shorturl.at/TTXtV).”

TCEQ reports that there are no active DSHS fish consumption advisories on the Colorado River.