Research Article: Rapid Environmental Assessment of a Drainage Canal System to Identify Bioreference Sites for Wetland Permitting

Abstract

With budget and time constraints in environmental permitting, the collection of baseline water quality data relies on rapid environmental assessments (REAs). In south Texas, we investigated the usefulness of including physicochemical parameters and freshwater benthic macroinvertebrate and fish assemblage data to rapidly assess a drainage canal system. Data were converted to chemical averages and metrics, and sample sites meeting the greatest number of metric criteria for high water quality in south Texas were identified. The REA approach determined bioreference sites that could provide baseline data for wetland permitting, mitigation planning, and future comparisons. We demonstrate that the REA approach for drainage canals was useful and provided the necessary data for US Clean Water Act 401 and 404 environmental permitting and decision making for the Raymondville Drain Outfall Project.

Acknowledgments

This research was funded in part by a contract from S&B Infrastructure (McAllen, Texas) to University of Texas–Pan American (UTPA). We thank the field and research assistance of Mark Iglesias, Juan Alcazar, and Deborah C. Edwards, and the kind cooperation of the Hidalgo and Willacy County Irrigation Districts and the El Sauz Ranch for access to their property. However, no conflicts of interest exist, and the data and interpretations are our own and uninfluenced by the source of funding (S&B Infrastructure). This article benefited from the suggestions for improvement offered by anonymous reviewers. Zen Faulkes (UTPA) assisted with formatting the map figure.