Counties: Brazoria, Fort
Bend, Galveston, and Harris
Parameter: Chlordane
River Basin: San Jacinto–Brazos Coastal
Basin
Segments: 1101, 1102
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Clear Creek Above Tidal
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Background and Goals
The Clear Creek watershed drains parts of Fort Bend, Harris,
Brazoria, and Galveston Counties. In 1993, the Texas Department of
State Health Services (DSHS; then known as TDH) issued a
fish-consumption advisory for portions of Clear Creek due to
elevated concentrations in fish tissue of the pesticide chlordane
and of volatile organic compounds (VOCs — covered under
another TMDL project). Because chlordane is a legacy pollutant
— a chemical that has been banned or severely restricted, but
which still remains in the environment — no significant new
sources are expected to occur. The goal of this TMDL project is to
reduce contaminant concentrations in fish tissue to levels that
constitute an acceptable risk to consumers.
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TMDLs and Implementation
Plan
The following documents are available as PDF files. (Help with
PDF.)
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Status and Implementation
The consumption ban was rescinded in October 2001; the fish
consumption use is no longer identified as impaired. The DSHS
assessment that resulted in a lifting of the consumption ban found
that chlordane concentrations were actually higher in the fish
tissue samples than they were in the previous assessment. However,
the DSHS evaluates health risk based on the cumulative effect of
all compounds detected. This value has been reduced to acceptable
levels because the concentrations of the other legacy pollutants
have declined.
The TCEQ will fund an assessment by DSHS in 2005 of fish
captured from the creek to verify that water quality continues to
improve, and that the fish are still safe to eat. Download the
DSHS's 2004 publication of
Fish Advisories and Bans (PDF) 
for the latest published information on
fish tissue advisories and bans in Texas.
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For More Information
For further information regarding this project, please call
Roger Miranda, Project Manager, at 512/239-6278. Or e-mail us at tmdl@tceq.state.tx.us and
reference Clear Creek chlordane in the subject line.
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