About 300 Texas water bodies currently do not comply with state water quality standards established for E.coli bacteria. Elevated concentrations of E.coli bacteria in water are an indicator of fecal contamination and can pose an increased health risk to downstream users.
The Lone Star Healthy Streams program aims to educate Texas livestock producers and land managers on how to best protect Texas waterways from bacterial contributions associated with the production of livestock and feral hogs. To achieve this goal, groups of research scientists, resource conservation agencies, and producers have collaborated to compile this Lone Star Healthy Streams manual which includes best management practices (BMPs) known to reduce E.coli contributions to rivers and streams. In addition to reducing bacterial contributions, the BMPs listed in this manual will allow livestock and land owners to further protect Texas waterways from sediment, nutrient, and pesticide runoff.
