STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Three Tarleton State University researchers, working under the auspices of The Texas Institute for Applied Environmental Research (TIAER) have received grants from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).
Principal Investigators Jimmy Millican, Dr. Michael Machen and Dr. Leah Taylor won grants totaling nearly $375,000 for Texas research projects.
Millican working under a grant of more than $122,000, collects fish, bugs, water quality samples, habitat assessments and other information from Nichols Creek, located within the Sabine River watershed in southeast Texas.
The purpose of the project is to provide information for TCEQ to determine the classification of Nichols Creek to assign the appropriate Aquatic Life Use and dissolved oxygen criteria.
A TCEQ grant of nearly $112,000 is helping fund Dr. Machen’s Surface Water Quality Monitoring (SWQM) Program, which monitors and evaluates physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of aquatic systems as a basis for effective policy.
The SWQM program, thought to be the only collaboration between TIAER and TSU faculty including undergraduate and graduate students, coordinates the collection, analysis, and interpretation of physical, chemical, and biological samples from more than 1,800 surface water sites in Texas.
Co-PIs on the project are Dr. Kartik Venkataraman, Professor in Tarleton’s Department of Mechanical, Environmental and Civil Engineering and Dr. Victoria Chraibi, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences and Assistant Director of Tarleton’s Timberlake Biological Field Station.
The program continues through 2025, maintaining a legacy of student and faculty interactions.
Dr. Taylor is working on a recreational use attainability analysis on Ash Creek, Dosier Creek and Derrett Creek in the Trinity River Basin funded by more than $140,000 from a TCEQ grant. Elevated levels of E. coli have been found in all three creeks which may increase the risk of illness from participating in recreation activities in the water.
The overall purpose of the project is to make sure streams have the correct use classification in order to set the appropriate bacteria criteria. Some Texas streams are classified as recreational use but are dry for most of the year or are not used by people for recreational purposes. In response to these and similar concerns, TIAER is helping the TCEQ with the goal of evaluating the information and ensuring the streams are being managed in the best interest of the public.
TIAER operates an accredited environmental laboratory, and the data collected within the nearby North Bosque River watershed continues to provide a vital long-term database for water quality model development and testing throughout the nation. Since its inception TIAER’s research efforts have expanded beyond the North Bosque watershed to areas throughout Texas and within at least 35 states across the U.S. as well as into Canada. Reaching internationally, TIAER is currently engaged in partnerships around the globe including Chile, China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ethiopia, and Italy.
A founding member of The Texas A&M System, Tarleton State is breaking records — in enrollment, research, scholarship, athletics, philanthropy and engagement — while transforming the lives of nearly 17,000 students in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Bryan and online. True to Tarleton’s values of excellence, integrity and respect, academic programs emphasize real world learning and address regional, state and national needs.