|
Fast Facts
Environmental Creek Assessments
Photo Gallery |
| Fast Facts |
| Population |
2000: 2,963
2030: 3,316 |
| Creek Length |
1 mile |
| Drainage Area |
1 square
mile |
| Drains To |
Colorado
River at Town Lake |
| Well Known Sites |
Travis High
School, Texas Railroad Commission, Off-leash dog park at Riverside
Dr and I-35 |
| Land Use |
Residential
Business
Civic
Parks
Roadways
Undeveloped |
47%
15%
3%
0%
32%
3% |
Watershed Facts
- Highly impacted by urbanization, this creek
has lost much of its natural character.
- Harper’s Branch is the smallest of
the City’s urban watersheds, with a drainage area of only
one square mile.
- Nitrate levles were elevated in 2000* *?*2001
Water Watchdogs EII Phase 1 Watersheds Report (monitoring conducted
in 2000)
- Fecal coliform levels were above the
state standard in 2000*.
*(2001 Water Watchdogs EII Phase 1 Watersheds Report (monitoring
conducted in 2000)
Return to Top
|
| Creek
Assessments
Environmental
| Index |
Score |
Category |
Notes |
| Overall
Score |
47 |
Marginal |
Harper's Branch ranks
45 out of 46 watersheds in overall quality |
Water
Chemistry |
46 |
Marginal
|
Water quality is average,
conductivity is very high, nitrate is high, orthophosphorus
is high |
Sediment
Quality |
57 |
Fair |
PAHs are very high, herbicides/pesticides
are low, metals are very low |
| Recreation |
59 |
Fair |
During dry weather conditions,
bacteria is usually not a threat |
| Aesthetics |
48 |
Marginal |
Lots of litter present,
slight offensive odors, algae cover is high, most of the creek
bed is dry |
| Habitat |
46 |
Marginal |
Increased sediment deposition,
cover is insufficient, some channel alteration, bank vegetation
is marginal, buffer zone is too small |
| Aquatic
Life |
26 |
Poor
|
Benthic macroinvertebrate
community is bad; diatom community is poor |
- Aesthetics impacted by lack of riparian
buffer and dense development.
Harper's Branch creek is small, heavily urban watershed impacted
by high amounts of impervious cover with little riparian habitat.
- High PAHs from heavy transportation
landuse; staff research indicates the source of high PAH levels
may be parking lot sealants.
Learn
More
How to Help
Return to Top
|
| Photo Gallery |
| |
|
| Harpers Branch Creek
at Woodland Ave. |
Harpers Branch Creek
at Riverside Drive |
Return to Top
|
