Geology topics

Research about Lake Houston

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Lake Houston.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2015

Simulation of the effects of different inflows on hydrologic conditions in Lake Houston with a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model, Houston, Texas, 2009–10

Lake Houston, an important water resource for the Houston, Texas, area, receives inflows from seven major tributaries that compose the San Jacinto River Basin upstream from the reservoir. The effects of different inflows from the watersheds drained by these tributaries on the residence time of water in Lake Houston and closely associated physical and chemical properties including lake elevation, salinity, and water temperature are not well known. Accordingly, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the City of Houston, developed a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model of Lake Houston as a tool for evaluating the effects of different inflows on residence time of water in the lake and associated physical and chemical properties. The Environmental Fluid Dynamics Code (EFDC), a grid-based, surface-water modeling package for simulating three-dimensional circulation, mass transport, sediments, and biogeochemical processes, was used to develop the model of Lake Houston. The Lake Houston EFDC model was developed and calibrated by using 2009 data and verified by using 2010 data. Three statistics (mean error, root mean square error, and the Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficient) were used to evaluate how well the Lake Houston EFDC model simulated lake elevation, salinity, and water temperature. The residence time of water in reservoirs is associated with various physical and chemical properties (including lake elevation, salinity, and water temperature). Simulated and measured lake-elevation values were compared at USGS reservoir station 08072000 Lake Houston near Sheldon, Tex. The accuracy of simulated salinity and water temperature values was assessed by using the salinity (computed from measured specific conductance) and water temperature at two USGS monitoring stations: 295826095082200 Lake Houston south Union Pacific Railroad Bridge near Houston, Tex., and 295554095093401 Lake Houston at mouth of Jack’s Ditch near Houston, Tex. Specific conductance and water temperature were measured at as many as four different depths at each of the two monitoring stations during 2009 and then used for assessing the accuracy of simulated values of salinity and water temperature during 2010. The performance evaluation statistics indicate that the model performed satisfactorily. The calibrated model was used to simulate two possible inflow scenarios to evaluate the changes in the residence time of water in Lake Houston. The two scenarios tested were an increased inflow of approximately 300 cubic feet per second for 1 month (May 2010) from two watersheds: the West Fork San Jacinto River and Luce Bayou. These scenarios were chosen to mimic the effects of possible small releases or diversions of water from outside the San Jacinto River Basin into the basin (or directly into the lake) on the residence time of water in Lake Houston. During the time of increased inflow for the two scenarios tested, maximum residence time decreased slightly from approximately 106 to 97 days.

Texas↗

USGS2009

Continuous and discrete water-quality data collected at five sites on Lake Houston near Houston, Texas, 2006-08

Lake Houston, a reservoir impounded in 1954 by the City of Houston, Texas, is a primary source of drinking water for Houston and surrounding areas. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the City of Houston, developed a continuous water-quality monitoring network to track daily changes in water quality in the southwestern quadrant of Lake Houston beginning in 2006. Continuous water-quality data (the physiochemical properties water temperature, specific conductance, pH, dissolved oxygen concentration, and turbidity) were collected from Lake Houston to characterize the in-lake processes that affect water quality. Continuous data were collected hourly from mobile, multi-depth monitoring stations developed and constructed by the U.S. Geological Survey. Multi-depth monitoring stations were installed at five sites in three general locations in the southwestern quadrant of the lake. Discrete water-quality data (samples) were collected routinely (once or twice each month) at all sites to characterize the chemical and biological (phytoplankton and bacteria) response to changes in the continuous water-quality properties. Physiochemical properties (the five continuously monitored plus transparency) were measured in the field when samples were collected. In addition to the routine samples, discrete water-quality samples were collected synoptically (one or two times during the study period) at all sites to determine the presence and levels of selected constituents not analyzed in routine samples. Routine samples were measured or analyzed for acid neutralizing capacity; selected major ions and trace elements (calcium, silica, and manganese); nutrients (filtered and total ammonia nitrogen, filtered nitrate plus nitrite nitrogen, total nitrate nitrogen, filtered and total nitrite nitrogen, filtered and total orthophosphate phosphorus, total phosphorus, total nitrogen, total organic carbon); fecal indicator bacteria (total coliform and Escherichia coli); sediment (suspended-sediment concentration and loss-on-ignition); actinomycetes bacteria; taste-and-odor-causing compounds (2-methylisoborneol and geosmin); cyanobacterial toxins (total microcystins); and phytoplankton abundance, biovolume, and community composition (taxonomic identification to genus). Synoptic samples were analyzed for major ions, trace elements, wastewater indicators, pesticides, volatile organic compounds, and carbon. The analytical data are presented in tables by type (continuous, discrete routine, discrete synoptic) and listed by station number. Continuously monitored properties (except pH) also are displayed graphically.

Texas↗

USGS2008

Watershed influences and in-lake processes - A regional-scale approach to monitoring a water-supply reservoir, Lake Houston near Houston, Texas

Created in 1954 by an impoundment on the San Jacinto River, Lake Houston currently (2008) supplies about 20 percent of the total source water for the city of Houston. Houston historically has relied on ground water as the major source of supply. As a result of regulations to limit ground-water withdrawals because of associated land subsidence (effective in 2010), the lake will become the primary source of water supply for the city in the future. Since 1983 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the City of Houston, has collected water-quality and lake-level data at Lake Houston, as well as discharge and intermittent water-quality data at its major inflowing tributaries. Previous studies indicate that Lake Houston is shallow, eutrophic, light limited and has a variable hydrologic regime with water residence times ranging from 12 hours to 400 days. Spring Creek, a tributary that drains the western, more urban, part of the Lake Houston watershed, contributes more sediment and nutrients than East Fork San Jacinto River, a tributary that drains the more rural, eastern part of the watershed. This fact sheet explains the importance of monitoring for management of the resource and describes ongoing research in the Lake Houston watershed by the USGS and the City.

Texas↗

USGS2005

Water-quality assessment of Lake Houston near Houston, Texas, 2000-2004

Lake Houston is a major source of public water supply and recreational resource for the Houston metropolitan area, Texas. Water-quality issues of potential concern for the lake have included nutrient enrichment (orthophosphorus, total phosphorus, nitrite plus nitrate) and aquatic life use (dissolved oxygen). The , in cooperation with the City of Houston, collected water samples from three sites in Lake Houston and from two streams that discharge to the lake during 2000–2004. Nitrogen compounds, phosphorus, suspended sediment, organic carbon, turbidity, chlorophyll-a, and selected pesticide compounds in water were assessed for all sites. Waterquality conditions of the lake and inflow streams were assessed, and loads and yields were computed for selected constituents in the streams. Selected constituents from samples collected in Lake Houston during 1990–2004 were tested for trends. The three sites sampled in Lake Houston characterized water available to the City of Houston pumping station (site AC), water entering the lake from the largely rural eastern subbasin (site EC), and water entering the lake from the more urbanized, western subbasin (site FC). Most constituent concentrations were largest at site FC, smallest at site EC, and intermediate at site AC. Organic nitrogen was the dominant form of nitrogen in samples collected at all sites. Nitrite plus nitrate concentrations were largest at site FC. Total phosphorus concentrations in all samples were larger than that recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to limit aquatic growth in reservoirs. There was a wide range in suspended-sediment concentrations and turbidity in the lake. Twelve pesticides were detected. Atrazine and its breakdown product, 2-chloro-4-isopropylamino-6-amino-s-triazine (CIAT), were the most commonly detected pesticides; concentrations of atrazine were larger than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency maximum contaminant level of 3.0 micrograms per liter in two samples at site FC. The relative contributions to the water quality of Lake Houston from the eastern and western subbasins were examined by collecting water samples in Cypress Creek and East Fork San Jacinto River. Nitrate and pesticide concentrations were larger in Cypress Creek than in East Fork San Jacinto River. In Cypress Creek, nitrate was the primary form of nitrogen at low flows. Atrazine exceeded 3.0 micrograms per liter in three of 17 samples, with the maximum measured concentration of 21.3 micrograms per liter. In East Fork San Jacinto River, organic nitrogen was the primary form of nitrogen. Atrazine was detected in six of 15 samples. The maximum atrazine concentration was 0.233 microgram per liter. Constituent yields allowed direct comparison of loads from Cypress Creek and East Fork San Jacinto River. In Cypress Creek, storm yields of nitrite plus nitrate nitrogen for high flows ranged from 8 to 45 pounds per square mile per day; in East Fork San Jacinto River, the maximum storm yield for high flows was 1.47 pounds per square mile per day. At low flows, the median daily yield of dissolved phosphorus from Cypress Creek was 84 times larger than the median daily yield from East Fork San Jacinto River; at high flows, it was 16 times larger. At high flows, the maximum daily yield of atrazine from Cypress Creek was 460 times larger than the maximum daily yield at high flows from East Fork San Jacinto River. The concentrations of most constituents at Lake Houston sites showed no trend during 1990–2004; however, significant trends overall or for particular seasons, or both, were detected at some sites for nitrite plus nitrate, dissolved phosphorus, dissolved organic carbon, chlorophyll-a, and diazinon (2000–2004 data only for diazinon).

Texas↗

USGS1997

Light attenuation in a shallow, turbid reservoir, Lake Houston, Texas

Results of measurements of light penetration at sites in Lake Houston near Houston, Texas, indicate that light-extinction coefficients during 1989– 90 range from about 2.49 to 7.93 meters-1 and euphotic zone depth ranges from about 0.61 to 1.85 meters. The coefficients are largest near the inflow site of West Fork San Jacinto River (upstream) and decrease slightly toward the dam (downstream). Total suspended solids and total organic carbon concentrations also are largest at the upstream end. Chlorophyll a+b concentrations are smallest near the dam, increase slightly upstream, and are largest during growing-season months. Color and turbidity show the strongest correlations with light-extinction coefficients in Lake Houston. Dissolved phosphorus and nitrogen concentrations are greater than growth-limiting concentrations during the study period, indicating that nutrient availability did not limit primary productivity or the phytoplankton biomass in Lake Houston. Light-extinction coefficients in relation to selected water-quality constituents indicate that more than one constituent affects the light-attenuating properties of Lake Houston. Attenuation of light in water depends on total suspended solids for predominant light scattering and on dissolved organic matter (color) and chlorophyll a+b for absorption of light. A statistical analytical model using Spearman rank order correlation shows that color and turbidity are the most useful water-quality constituents sampled to determine light-attenuating properties of water in Lake Houston. Multiple-regression analysis of measured light-extinction coefficients as the dependent variable and measured color and turbidity as independent variables for water from Lake Houston produced the relation: light-extinction coefficient (η) = 2.78 + 0.007 X color + 0.036 X turbidity, with an average error of the computed coefficient to measured value of ±13 percent. The model can be useful in computing the thickness of the euphotic zone to determine primary productivity in the reservoir.

Texas↗