Home >> Texas Clean Rivers Program >> State of the Basin >> Special Studies on Priority Watersheds >> 2006-2007 Special Studies >> Lower Sabine Basin Tidal Study

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The Lower Sabine Tidal Study (LSTS) documented the extent of saltwater intrusion, the affects of tide on flow, the sediment and nutrient concentrations of freshwater flowing into Sabine Lake and attempted to better understand the dynamic nature of this complex river system. The LSTS was conducted by the Sabine River Authority of Texas under the Texas Clean Rivers Program in cooperation with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Sampling was conducted bi-monthly from 02/22/06 through 02/22/07 from SH12, at river mile 40.2 at the Sabine River near Ruliff, Texas, to the mouth of the Sabine River at the northeast end of Sabine Lake. The study area included sites in Adams and Cow Bayous in Texas and on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and Black Bayou in Louisiana. The most upstream intrusion of the saltwater wedge was on the Old River Channel near Nibletts Bluff, LA. Tidal saltwater flowed predominately upstream during low stream flow and during high tide conditions. Adams and Cow Bayous followed the general flow direction of the Sabine River; however this was not true of the flow in Black Bayou and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. The flow in Black Bayou was consistently counter to the tidal flow in the river and was most likely the result of hydrologic changes from the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. There appeared to be no relationship between sediment, in the form of suspended solids, and flow. Nutrient concentrations were assessed using total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) and total phosphorus (TP) and found to be fairly uniform across the stream profile and within ranges typical for the lower Sabine River.

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Prepared in Cooperation with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Under the Authorization of the Texas Clean Rivers Act.