Bacterial source tracking work completed in a number of these waterbodies has identified a noticeable contribution from grazing cattle to the bacteria loading of these streams. Grazing lands, which represent the dominant land use in the majority of watersheds in Texas, have received little attention until now regarding the effect of grazing livestock on water quality.  Thus, implementation of watershed management principles and practices on grazing lands will be critical to the success of water resource protection efforts in the state in years to come.

This project will assess and compile current knowledge regarding Best Management Practices (BMPs) designed to protect grazing lands watersheds from bacteria contamination.  Based on this initial task, educational programs and materials will be developed and then tested in the pilot watershed selected by the committee.  Concurrent with the development and testing of the educational program, BMPs will be demonstrated and evaluated in the pilot watershed to determine the efficacy of various value-added BMPs.  Best Management Practices that will first be considered for evaluation is alternative water source development.  In Year 1 of the project, cattle will be fitted with GPS collars seasonally without access to alternative water to determine where they spend their time in relation to a live stream.  In Year 2, alternative water will be provided and the same cattle will again be fitted with GPS collars to determine the effectiveness of alternative water development in moving cattle away from the stream.  Water samples will be obtained twice monthly for the duration of the project to monitor and evaluate bacteria levels pre and post treatment.  Evaluations will also include an assessment of the effects of these BMPs other water quality parameters (e.g. nutrients and sediment), stream health (e.g. streambank stability, fish habitat, and benthic macroinvertebrates), and the economic impact for beef cattle producers.