Identification of Priority Conservation Lands Within Watersheds that Feed Drinking Water Supply Reservoirs in North Texas

Abstract

The Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD) provides drinking water to rapidly urbanizing North Texas. To support TRWD in water quality management efforts across its seven drinking water reservoirs, we developed a prioritization model that identifies lands where conservation could enhance water quality by reducing sedimentation in the drinking water reservoirs and surrounding waterways. Our analysis considered environmental factors to predict erosion risk and social aspects to estimate development pressure and landowner cooperation. Additionally, a separate prioritization was created to include proximity to protected lands, facilitating collaboration between TRWD and its partner municipalities and conservation organizations. The results revealed that the highest priority conservation lands occur in the Eagle Mountain and Lake Bridgeport watersheds located northwest of the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area.