Castlemen Creek (Mclennan County) Project Map

 

Physical Data

Castleman Creek watershed lies to the south of the central Texas city of Waco in McLennan County. It is downstream from the Whitney and Waco reservoirs. Castleman Creek heads 2 miles west of Hewitt and flows eastwards into the Brazos River about 8 miles southeast of Waco. Little Castleman Creek and Bee Creek are the principal tributaries. Robinson and Hewitt, two fast growing suburban areas of Waco, and the two communities of Downsville and Rosenthal are located within the watershed.

The watershed lies within the Black Prairie physiographic area. The topography ranges from gently rolling to nearly level on the flood plain and bottomlands of the Brazos River. Steep slopes occur in the central reaches on the south side of Castleman Creek. Elevations range from 350 feet above mean sea level in the channel bottom at the Brazos River to 730 feet in the headwaters .

The watershed is underlain by rocks of Upper Cretaceous (Gulfian) age. Soft limestone and chalks of the Austin formation occur in the upper part. Fault ing, associated with the Balcones fault system, separates these rocks from the calcareous shales of the Taylor formation (Lower Taylor Marl) which crop out in the central part of the watershed. The lower portion near the Brazos River is covered by terrace and alluvial deposits of Quaternary age. These deposits consist of clays underlain by quartz sands and gravels.

The sand and gravel deposits of the Brazos Valley are sources of construction materials for the large urbanized Waco area. Although sources nearer the city are supplying present needs, future expansion, plus exhaustion of the present producing areas, may force the development of these deposits within the watershed area.

Soils of the Blackland Prairie Land Resource Area have developed on the limestone and shale portions of the watershed. These soils are dark colored, moderately to slowly permeable clays of the Austin, Houston, and Houston Black series on the uplands and the Frio and Trinity series on the alluvial flood plain. Sandy soils of the Axtell, Milam, Stidham, and other associated series have developed on the Brazos terrace areas. The bottomland soils derived from the Brazos alluvium include the Miller clay, Asa silty clay loam and silty loam, and small areas of Norwood silt loam.

The watershed has an area of 29,850 acres (46,64 square miles), of which 27,820 acres are in farms and ranches and 2,030 acres are in urban areas, roads and miscellaneous uses

The average annual rainfall is 31,87 inches, based on U. S. Weather Bureau records of gage readings at Hewitt, Texas, Rainfall is well distributed with larger average monthly amounts occurring in April, May, and June, However, individual rains of excessive amounts may occur during any season. Mean temperatures range from 86 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer to 48 degrees in winter. The extreme recorded temperatures are 5 degrees below zero and 111 degrees above zero. The average frost free period of 249 days extends from March 10 until November 15,

Water for domestic and livestock use in the rural areas is supplied largely by shallow wells, cisterns, and small farm ponds. Hewitt, Robinson, and Rosenthal obtain their water from deep wells.

Economic Data

The economy of this watershed is largely dependent upon agricultural production, although many residents of the watershed depend on employment in the Waco metropolitan area for the major portion of their income. The major uses of flood plain lands are cotton, corn, grain sorghums, alfalfa, oats, and pasture. The most important crop for cash sale is cotton. The flood plain land above F„M. 434 (figure 3) is used primarily for pasture, whilethe flood plain below the road is in cultivation. The flood plain below this road is common with the Brazos River and produces substantially higher yields. Supplemental irrigation is practiced on about 1,000 acres. Indications are that the acreage under irrigation will increase.

In McLennan County, the average farm unit increased in size from 170 acres in 1954 to 230 acres in 1959, The estimated value of land and buildings per farm has increased from $19,903 to $33,384 during this period, based on U, S, census data. However, in the watershed, the average farm unit and the value of land and improvements are not representative of the county averages. The average size of the 180 operating units is 155 acres. The current value of flood plain land is $300 per acre, while upland is $200. Urban development in the Waco metropolitan area has influenced land prices in the upland area of the watershed. The higher values of land in the flood plain are due primarily to the high production capacity of bottomland soils.

The incorporated towns of Hewitt and Robinson, with populations of 200 and 2,100, respectively, are within the watershed. The Waco metropolitan area had a population of 100,000 in 1960. Waco is the county seat of McLennan County. It is the banking, commercial, and industrial center for a number of East Central Texas counties, Baylor University and Paul Quinn College offer excellent facilities for higher education.

The watershed has approximately 55 miles of roads, of which 14 miles are paved. Interstate 35, U. S, Highway 77, Spur 340, F, M. 434, 1695, 2063 and 2113 traverse the watershed. Adequate rail facilities are available through the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe; the Missour i-Kansas-Texas ; and the Texas & New Orleans Railroads.

Land Treatment Data

The watershed is served by the Soil Conservation Service work unit at Waco, which assists the McLennan County Soil Conservation District. The District was organized in June 1940, However, conservation work was started in the watershed and surrounding areas in September 1935 by a Civilian Conservation Corps Camp located in Waco, Most of the conservation measures installed in the watershed by the CCC have been maintained and are functioning as planned. Many of the concrete structures in the waterways are still in good condition and have operated satisfactorily for the past 29 years. Most of the farms whose owners cooperated with the CCC in doing construction work are still operated by the same owners or their heirs.

There are 180 operating units in the watershed, Basic soil and water conservation plans have been prepared for 92 farms. These 92 farms contain 68 percent of the watershed area. Approximately 60 percent of the cropland and 25 percent of the pastureland are adequately treated. All of the planned conservation measures have been applied on farms comprising 2,273 acres.

These farms are classed as being “on maintenance”.  There are 23 conservation plans currently needing revision. Standard soil surveys are available on all the acreage in the watershed. However, some adjustment in the data is needed. (This according to original work plan-L Lehr, Jan 2024)

WATERSHED PROBLEMS

Floodwater Damage

An estimated 4,900 acres of the watershed, excluding stream channels, is flood plain (figure 3). The flood plain as described herein is the area that will be inundated by the largest storm considered in the 22-year series used for evaluation. This flood approximates a 25-year frequency event.

Most of the floodwater damage occurs on about 4,100 acres of flood plain land that is common with the Brazos River bottom (Reach 3, Figure 3). Although this area has been flooded by the Brazos River, Corps of Engineers ‘ projects will eliminate most of this flooding. The following discussion describes only flooding caused by runoff from within the watershed. This land is used intensively with 1,000 acres under supplemental irrigation at the present time. A few landowners have worked together since 1947 to divert a large part of the overflow water by constructing a channel and floodway downstream from the T & N 0 Railroad. Although this has been helpful, the floodway has been breached several times since it was constructed. It has had no effect in reducing the flood problem in the Bee Creek area (Reach 2). Castleman Creek (Reach 1) has been straightened in several places but this has had little or no effect in reducing flood damage.

The most recent destructive floods occurred on Castleman Creek in 1957 and 1959. The flood of April 23-24, 1957, with a recurrence interval of 20 years, inundated approximately 4,700 acres in the watershed area. Monetary floodwater damages from this flood were estimated to be $243,000. During the 22-year evaluation period, 1941-1962, there were 183 floods, of which 8 were of major proportions, inundating more than half the 4,900 acres of flood plain in the project area. An average of 8 floods per year caused damage to crops and pastures, roads and bridges, and other agricultural installations, such as fences and farm equipment.

Flood plain land is valued at $300 per acre. Under non-project conditions the average annual direct monetary floodwater damage is $99,607, of which $89,979 is crop and pasture, $6,823 is other agricultural, and $2,805 is nonagricultural, such as damage to roads and bridges. Indirect damage, such as interruption of travel, rerouting of school buses and mail routes, losses sustained by businesses in the area and similar losses is estimated to average $10,302 annually.

Erosion Damages

Erosion rates in the uplands are high. The present gross erosion rate is estimated to be 3.9 acre-feet per square mile annually. About 90 percent of the erosion is caused by sheet erosion on untreated cropland. Approximately 65 percent of the uplands is in cultivation with about 50 percent used for clean tilled row crops.

Active gullies 25 to 50 feet deep produce highly damaging materials, which amount to 6 percent of the total upland erosion. These areas are located on the steep slopes on the south side of Castleman Creek. These deep circular gullies are eroding at rates of 15 to 158 acre-feet per square mile annually. The size of these areas ranges from 3 to 38 acres. Most of this erosion results from normal rainfall falling on easily weathered and unstable shales .

Flood plain erosion has damaged 350 acres to depths ranging from 9 inches on sheet-scoured areas to over 3 feet in severe channel-scoured areas (figure 3). The estimated annual damage in terms of reduced productivity is as follows: 194 acres damaged, 10 percent; 94 acres damaged, 20 percent;

45 acres damaged, 40 percent; and 17 acres damaged, 80 percent. The value of this damage is $3,101 annually. (194 data, L. Lehr Jan, 2024)

Sediment Damage

The most serious sediment damage in the watershed consists of capacity loss of the channels due to filling. This damage is reflected in more frequent overflows on the flood plain, increasing flood damages from the smaller storms and contributing to higher scouring damages. Sediment damages in terms of reduced productivity to the flood plain soils are low. Sterile, highly damaging, silty material derived from severe gullies, mixed with the larger volumes of low to non-damaging material derived from sheet erosion, is damaging approximately 100 acres by an estimated 10 percent in terms of reduced productivity. These deposits range in depths from 1 to 4 feet and produce a drouthy and less fertile soil. The average annual value of this damage is $309 annually.

Problems Relating to Water Management

Problems caused by inadequate surface drainage are limited to small areas on a few farms for which existing outlets are adequate.

Supplemental irrigation is a common practice in the lower portion of the watershed near the Brazos River. Water is obtained from the river and from shallow wells. The area now being irrigated likely will be enlarged when the frequency of flooding is reduced. The soils are well suited to irrigation both physically and chemically. Landowners in the flood plain area between U. S. Highway 77 and F. M. Highway 434 have indicated an interest in irrigation. However, they do not have a source of water.

Robinson, Hewitt, and Rosenthal obtain their municipal water supply from deep wells. Little is used for industrial purposes. The supply is adequate for the immediate future. However, if Robinson and Hewitt continue to grow at their current rate, it is probable that additional sources will have to be developed to meet the demands. The most logical source would be from Lake Waco.

Water for livestock and domestic use in the rural areas is obtained from cisterns, shallow wells, and farm ponds. Only a few of the farms and ranches have deep wells. During extremely dry years water is hauled from the deep wells by many of the rural residents.