Publisher's Synopsis
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District; City of Corpus Christi; Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority; San Antonio River Authority; and San Antonio Water System, developed, calibrated, and tested a Hydrological Simulation Program-FORTRAN (HSPF) watershed model to simulate streamflow and suspended-sediment concentrations and loads during 1958-2010 in the lower Nueces River watershed, downstream from Lake Corpus Christi to the Nueces Estuary in south Texas. Data available to simulate suspended-sediment concentrations and loads consisted of historical sediment data collected during 1942-82 in the study area and suspended-sediment concentration data collected periodically by the USGS during 2006-7 and 2010 at three USGS streamflow-gaging stations (08211000 Nueces River near Mathis, Tex. [the Mathis gage], 08211200 Nueces River at Bluntzer, Tex. [the Bluntzer gage], and 08211500 Nueces River at Calallen, Tex. [the Calallen gage]), and at one ungaged location on a Nueces River tributary (USGS station 08211050 Bayou Creek at Farm Road 666 near Mathis, Tex.). The Mathis gage is downstream from Wesley E. Seale Dam, which was completed in 1958 to impound Lake Corpus Christi. Suspended-sediment data collected before and after completion of Wesley E. Seale Dam provide insights to the effects of the dam and reservoir on suspended-sediment loads transported by the lower Nueces River downstream from the dam to the Nueces Estuary. Annual suspended-sediment loads at the Nueces River near the Mathis, Tex., gage were considerably lower for a given annual mean discharge after the dam was completed than before the dam was completed. Most of the suspended sediment transported by the Nueces River downstream from Wesley E. Seale Dam occurred during high-flow releases from the dam or during floods. During October 1964-September 1971, about 536,000 tons of suspended sediment were transported by the Nueces River past the Mathis gage. Of this amount, about 473,000 tons, or about 88 percent, were transported by large runoff events (mean streamflow exceeding 1,000 cubic feet per second). To develop the watershed model to simulate suspended-sediment concentrations and loads in the lower Nueces River watershed during 1958-2010, streamflow simulations were calibrated and tested with available data for 2001-10 from the Bluntzer and Calallen gages. Streamflow data for the Nueces River obtained from the Mathis gage were used as input to the model at the upstream boundary of the model. Simulated streamflow volumes for the Bluntzer and Calallen gages showed good agreement with measured streamflow volumes. For 2001-10, simulated streamflow at the Calallen gage was within 3 percent of measured streamflow. The HSPF model was calibrated to simulate suspended sediment using suspended-sediment data collected at the Mathis, Bluntzer, and Calallen gages during 2006-7. Model simulated suspended-sediment loads at the Calallen gage were within 5 percent of loads that were estimated, by regression, from suspended-sediment sample analysis and measured streamflow. The calibrated watershed model was used to estimate streamflow and suspended-sediment loads for 1958-2010, including loads transported to the Nueces Estuary. During 1958-2010, on average, an estimated 288 tons per day (tons/d) of suspended sediment were delivered to the lower Nueces River; an estimated 278 tons/d were delivered to the estuary. The annual suspended-sediment load was highly variable, depending on the occurrence of runoff events and high streamflows. During 1958-2010, the annual total sediment loads to the estuary varied from an estimated 3.8 to 2,490 tons/d. On average, 113 tons/d, or about 39 percent of the estimated annual suspended-sediment contribution, originated from cropland in the study watershed.
