SAN ANGELO, TX – According to the TCEQ and UCRA, Brady Creek in McCulloch County has oxygen levels that are below what is needed to support aquatic life. Now, a long term plan is in place to rehabilitate it.
The low oxygen levels in Brady Creek have been linked to the construction of Brady Reservoir which interrupted the flow pattern for the river. In response concerns from the TCEQ, the UCRA is taking action. “First we did a master plan many years ago,” explained Scott McWilliams, a hydrologist and the director of technical operations for the UCRA. “Then we did a characterization and then we wound up doing a watershed protection plan. In that watershed protection plan, what it consists of, is coming up with a way to alleviate the dissolved oxygen problems they have through town.”
Brady city officials are working alongside the Upper Colorado River Authority, but have found some financial snags when bidding out the project. “My understanding that they put out a bid to have that done,” said Brady mayor Tony Groves in a phone interview. “In the near future, and the bid came back significantly higher than they had anticipated.”
The watershed protection plan being put into place will help increase oxygen levels, which will help wildlife, by increasing water flow. “One of the things we’re proposing to do is to pump water from [the] new treatment system for their sewage water,” McWilliams elaborated. Mcwilliams says the plan is set for several stages over the next ten years.
