The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) monitors  San Bernard River Water quality.  The sampling for the tidal section is taken at the Public Boat Ramp located on F.M. 2611. Sampling for the northern part of the river is done at the bridge on old Hwy. 90.

Technicians from the Houston office collect samples on a quarterly basis and have done so for several years. They typically test for dissolved oxygen, pH, salinity, chlorophyll a, nitrogen, phosphates, ammonia, chloride, sulfate and bacteria. They also test for things like benzene, fuels and other petrochemicals which are not normally scheduled, but could be done in the event of some type spill or accident.

Lythia Metzmeier with the TCEQ in Houston has provided much of the information here and does much of the sampling on our river.

I asked if someone from the TCEQ could give F.O.R.'s Clean Team  a presentation at their next sampling. On Wednesday,October 11,^{Lythia and Karen Atkinson stopped and provided a demonstration during their scheduled route from Oyster Creek to the San Bernard then on to Sargent.}

Although a little late arriving, they quickly went to work while demonstrating and discussing the sampling process, the instruments used, and the lab test performed on the water collected.