LCRA, in cooperation with other local, state and federal agencies, is developing a plan to improve water quality in the Gilleland Creek watershed in northeast Travis County.

See Gilleland Creek project.

To help manage the lower Colorado River watershed more effectively, LCRA is developing water quality computer models of the river system, including its tributaries and lakes.

Launched in 2002, the Colorado River Environmental Models (CREMS) project is expected to take 10 years to complete. The goal is to develop tools to help diagnose existing problems and issues, discern trends, and predict the consequences of various decisions and actions on the Highland Lakes, lower Colorado River and tributaries.

The initial phase focused on the sources and processes of nutrients in Lake Travis. The work prepared for more specific models and studies of LCRA's nonpoint-source pollution control ordinances, and of the state's ban on wastewater discharges into the Highland Lakes. The goal was to investigate the sensitivity of water quality in the lake to various potential changes in the Lake Travis watershed.

The Lake Travis Phase is now complete and the final reports can be found below. LCRA is currently working on the Lake LBJ watershed that includes lakes Inks and Marble Falls.

• Scenario summaries performed using the watershed and lake water quality models developed for Lake Travis for Phase 2 of the CREMS project.
• Technical report describing the Phase 2 project, including Lake Travis monitoring, model development, and model calibration. Several appendices are included that further document the field studies, data analyses/model set-up, and model review. (51 MB, 973 pages)
• Summary of LCRA staff comments on the “draft” report and responses to address those comments.
• Comments and responses from the “draft” report compiled into this form by Anchor QEA from LimnoTech’s “Peer Review of the CREMS Phase 2 Application to Lake Travis”