City of Austin - Water Quality :: Education

Fast Facts
Population	2000: 263 2030: 456
Creek Length	1 miles
Drainage Area	1 square mile
Drains To	Colorado River at Lake Austin
Well Known Sites	Mt Bonnell Spring, Mount Bonnell, Davis Water Treatment Plant
Land Use	Residential Business Civic Parks Roadways Undeveloped	52% 0% 0% 2% 25% 21%

Watershed Facts

Huck’s Slough Creek is often dry throughout the year, however, a spring flows close to the mouth where it enters Lake Austin
The majority of the creek that is running is located on the Davis Wastewater Treatment Plant property and is inaccessible to the public.

Creek Assessments
Environmental

Index	Score	Category	Notes
Overall Score	54	Fair	Huck's Slough ranks 41 out of 46 watersheds in overall quality
Water Chemistry	42	Marginal	Water quality is poor, ammonia is high, nitrate is high, conductivity is high, suspended solids are high
Sediment Quality	68	Good	PAHs are high, herbicides/pesticides are very low, metals are very low
Recreation	77	Very Good	During dry weather conditions, bacteria is not a threat
Aesthetics	63	Good	Litter is not a problem, no odor, water is cloudy, most of the creek bed is dry
Habitat	27	Poor	Very bad sediment deposition, cover is insufficient, some channel alteration, buffer zone is too small
Aquatic Life	44	Marginal	Benthic macroinvertebrate community is poor, diatom community is good

Absence of pollution-intolerant diatom species suggests water quality may be impacting aquatic life.
Contact recreation scores degraded in Hucks Slough more than other watersheds in the City.
Habitat scores degraded in Huck's Slough more than other watersheds in the City.
Overall scores degraded in Hucks Slough more than other watersheds in the City.
Water quality scores degraded in Hucks Slough more than other watersheds in the City.
Staff research indicates the source of high PAH levels may be from parking lot sealants.

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

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