WHAT IS AN I-PLAN?
Writing or saying ‘Corpus Christi Regional Water Quality Implementation Plan’ can be a mouthful so we’ve shortened it to the I-PLAN. The Cole Park and Ropes Park stakeholder group had completed the draft I-Plan in February, 2025 to help improve water quality conditions within the regional watersheds. The TCEQ Commission approved the stakeholders’ plan on August 6, 2025.
The goal of the Corpus Christi Regional Water Quality Implementation Plan (I-PLAN) is to restore water quality to CC Bay Beaches and Oso Watershed by implementing measures that reduce the TMDLs. This implementation plan is the consolidation of the Cole Park and Ropes Park, Poenisch Park, Oso Bay and Oso Creek I-Plans.
Stakeholders discussing the Oso Creek TMDL Project.
The main areas where water samples are collected to test for TMDLs is shown below. For detailed data and sampling stations, visit Beach Watch. TCEQ is tasked with coordinating the collection of physical, chemical, and biological samples from more than 1,800 sites and continuous-monitoring stations in selected watersheds throughout the state.
For further information on implementing an I-Plan or to read the approved I-Plan for Corpus Christi Beaches (212 pages), visit the TCEQ website.
WHAT IS TMDL? Meet the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Program
The TMDL program works with communities to take care of Texas by improving the quality of their streams, lakes, and bays through development of total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) and their implementation plans (I-Plans).
A TMDL is a scientifically-derived target for water quality that tells us the greatest amount of a particular substance that can be added to a water body without compromising its health. The TMDL gives us a measurable goal to protect and improve the quality of our streams, lakes, and bays. Substances considered in a TMDL are not necessarily harmful in and of themselves. For example, bacteria occur naturally in both human and animal waste, but too much bacteria can make it more hazardous to swim in a creek, lake, or bay—activities called “contact recreation” in the state’s standards for water quality.
From the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality website.
