Locating project facilities Two main technical factors led the facility siting and environment study team to recommend the Pierce Ranch property in Wharton County for a holding basin to capture excess and unused flows from the Colorado River for the LCRA-SAWS Water Project:
- Amount of potential jurisdictional wetlands, as mapped by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
- Practicability of the site, including the landowner’s willingness to sell.
A total of about 20 factors were considered by the study team, PBS&J and KBR, as outlined in their Alternative Analysis Technical Memorandum. The memo reviews the process used to narrow down 15 possible configurations for the project to the preferred one.
View the report.
Waterfowl 
The entire Texas Gulf Coast supports 83 percent of the state’s wintering waterfowl and Texas supports more than half of wintering waterfowl in North America’s central flyway, according to documentation analyzed in the Waterfowl Existing Conditions Technical Memorandum.
The waterfowl study, being conducted by BIO-WEST, is examining the current state of waterfowl in Matagorda, Colorado and Wharton counties so that possible effects from the proposed project can be addressed.
The memo also notes that:
- Texas waterfowl population trends appear stable or slightly rising and are meeting goals developed under the North American Waterfowl Management Plan – an initiative of the United States, Canada and Mexico.
- Waterfowl hunting nationwide is decreasing while the trend in Texas has not yet been determined.
- Matagorda County has significantly more nonagricultural waterfowl habitat than Colorado or Wharton counties.
View the report.
