City of Austin - Water Quality :: Education

Fast Facts
Population	2000: 5,951 2030: 9,357
Creek Length	6 miles
Drainage Area	4 square miles
Drains To
Well Known Sites	Austin Nature and Science Center, Valley View Elementary, Forest Trail Elementary, Eanes Elementary, Westlake High School, Hill Country Middle School, Cedar Creek Elementary, Westlake Hills, Rollingwood,Tucker Cemetery
Land Use	Residential Business Civic Parks Roadways Undeveloped	38% 13% 8% 5% 17% 18%

Watershed Facts

Eanes Creek was formerly known as Dry Creek; there are however, three other Dry Creek watersheds in Austin
Eanes Creek runs through Westlake, but usually dries up before it enters Town Lake. When the creek is flowing, it continues to run through the Austin Nature and Science Center to Town Lake.
62% of Eanes Creek watershed passes through the environmentally sensitive Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone (Barton Springs Segment) where water travels through caves and sinkholes to “recharge” the aquifer.
The majority of the Eanes drainage area is in the Village of Westlake jurisdiction.

Creek Assessments
Environmental

Index	Score	Category	Notes
Overall Score	60	Fair	Eanes ranks 29 out of 46 watersheds in overall quality
Water Chemistry	51	Fair	Water quality is average, nitrate is very high, conductivity is very high, orthophosphorus is high
Sediment Quality	73	Good	PAHs are high, herbicides/pesticides are very low, metals are very low
Recreation	74	Good	During dry weather conditions, bacteria is usually not a threat
Aesthetics	66	Good	Some litter present, no odor, water is cloudy, most of the creek bed is dry
Habitat	45	Marginal	Increased sediment deposition, cover is insufficient
Aquatic Life	49	Marginal	Benthic macroinvertebrate community is fair, diatom community is good

Eanes is listed on the State 303(d) List of Impaired Waterbodies for elevated bacteria.
Elevated levels of PAH may be harmful to aquatic life.
Lower portions of Eanes below the recharge zone typically only flow during storm events.
Residential fertilizer application and septic systems may impact nutrients and conductivity.
Silt and sedimentation may be impacting aquatic life.

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


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