City of Austin - Water Quality :: Education

Fast Facts
Population	2000: 14,620 2030: 15,903
Creek Length	7 miles
Drainage Area	5 square miles
Drains To	Colorado River below Town Lake
Well Known Sites	ACC Riverside Campus, Mabel Davis Park, Pleasant Valley Sportsplex, Linder Elementary
Land Use Country Club East	Residential Business Civic Parks Roadways Undeveloped	23% 11% 6% 24% 10% 26%
Land Use Country Club West	Residential Business Civic Parks Roadways Undeveloped	31% 18% 3% 8% 14% 26%

Watershed Facts

The creek was named for the Austin Country Club, which was located in the watershed from 1953 until 1984, when it moved to West Austin.
Country Club Creek contains gravel pits that were mined in the early 1900’s.
Excessive sediment in the creek can be attributed to the highly erosive nature of the soils in the watershed.
In response to citizen complaints, investigators find an average of 40 pollution problems each year in Country Club Creek. Sewage is the most common complaint, followed by petroleum.
A pesticide spill in Country Club Creek (at Mabel Davis Park) killed over 200 fish in 1979. A clean-up to 1979 standards was done and approved by State environmental and health officials. However, the park has temporarily been closed again due to contamination from an old landfill underneath the park.
Country Club Creek watershed was recently designated as two watersheds-East Country Club and West Country Club.
The new Colorado River Park being created in the Country Club watershed will eventually be larger than Zilker Park.
West Country Club is still in the early stages of stream development as the watershed was artificially formed from channel alteration for flood control.

Creek Assessments
Environmental
Country Club East

Index	Score	Category	Notes
Overall Score	47	Marginal	East Country Club ranks 45 out of 46 watersheds in overall quality
Water Chemistry	31	Poor	Water quality is poor, ammonia is high, conductivity is very high, nitrate is high, orthophosphorus is high, suspended solids are high
Sediment Quality	70	Good	PAHs are high, herbicides/pesticides are very low, metals are very low
Recreation	59	Fair	During dry weather conditions, bacteria is usually not a threat
Aesthetics	58	Fair	Some litter is present, no odor, surface appearance is bad, water is cloudy, most of the creek bed is dry
Habitat	33	Poor	Very bad sediment deposition, cover is insufficient, some channel alteration, bank stability is very bad, bank vegetation is marginal, buffer zone is too small
Aquatic Life	29	Poor	Benthic macroinvertebrate community is bad; diatom community is poor

Absence of riparian buffer and development directly adjacent to stream degrage aesthetic conditions.
Erosion resulting from native soil types and pressure from development contribute to poor habitat quality scores.
New Colorado River Park development includes channel and riparian habitat restoration near the mouth.

Environmental scores are based on a full range of chemical, biological, and physical assessments.

Country Club West

Index	Score	Category	Notes
Overall Score	57	Fair	West Country Club ranks 33 out of 46 watersheds in overall quality
Water Chemistry	49	Marginal	Water quality is average, suspended solids are high
Sediment Quality	70	Good	PAHs are high, herbicides/pesticides are very low, metals are very low
Recreation	54	Fair	During dry weather conditions, bacteria is usually not a threat
Aesthetics	68	Good	Some litter is present, no odor, algae covers 10-20% of creek, water is slightly cloudy, some of the creek bed is dry
Habitat	56	Fair	Increased sediment deposition, cover is insufficient, buffer zone is small
Aquatic Life	46	Marginal	Benthic macroinvertebrate community is poor; diatom community is fair

Colorado River Park development includes channel and riparian habitat restoration in watershed.
West Country Club is still in the early stages of stream development as the watershed was artificially formed from channel alteration for flood control.

Environmental scores are based on a full range of chemical, biological, and physical assessments.

Photo Gallery

West Country Club Creek at Crossing Place Drive	West Country Club Creek at East Oltorf


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