Texas A&M AgriLife, North Texas Municipal Water District and other stakeholders in the Bois d’Arc Lake Watershed Partnership hosted a Lone Star Healthy Streams Workshop in Bonham, Texas, to share guidance and the importance of protecting and improving water quality Texas waterways.
Through a focus on the Bois d’Arc Lake Watershed, presentations included information about basic watershed function, water quality, and specific best management practices that can be implemented to help minimize bacterial contamination originating from livestock and feral hogs. David Cowan, NTMWD Watershed Manager, shared recommendations from the Draft Bois d’Arc Lake Watershed Protection Plan (which is open for public comment until March 3), with key recommendations including:
- Providing workshops and other educational opportunities for landowners to encourage implementation of best management practices that protect water quality
- Promoting and implementing voluntary water quality management and conservation plans that help reduce erosion
- Repairing or replacing failing on-site sewage systems in the watershed
- Providing technical assistance to help control feral hog populations
- Identifying and implementing green stormwater practices to reduce bacteria, nutrients and other pollutants from running off into local creeks
- Monitoring the water quality in Bois d’Arc Lake and its tributaries to detect changes over time
The Bois d’Arc Lake Watershed Partnership was formed early in 2021 to guide development of the Bois d’Arc Lake Watershed Protection Plan and includes NTMWD, Fannin County, Fannin County Soil and Water Conservation District, Cities of Bonham and Honey Grove, and Texas A&M AgriLife.
For more information and to download a copy of the Draft Bois d’Arc Lake Watershed Protection Plan, please visit www.BoisdArcLake.org/watershed.
