The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is hosting a stakeholder meeting to update stakeholders on the status of the Leon River Total Maximum Daily Load for bacteria. The meeting will be held from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 10, at the Lee Conference Center, 114 East Main Street in Hamilton, Texas.

The goal of a TMDL is to determine the amount (or load) of a pollutant that a body of water can receive and still support its beneficial uses. TMDLs are required for some impaired water bodies under the 1972 federal Clean Water Act. The Leon River below Proctor Lake was identified as impaired due to elevated levels of bacterial indicators for pathogens, specifically fecal coliform and E-coli. The counties within the watershed include Comanche, Coryell, Erath, Hamilton and Mills.

The meeting will give interested parties an opportunity to learn about efforts to improve water quality and develop plans specific to this segment of the river. Recommendations received from the Bacteria Task Force and how they affect this project will be summarized at the meeting. Other items on the agenda include next steps to be taken.

The public is encouraged to participate. More information on the project, past meeting summaries, a list of current stakeholder representatives and an overall project overview can be found at the following Web page: http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/implementation/water/tmdl/34-leon_group.html.