San Marcos River Foundation Newsletter - Vol. 10, No. 2
Printed Quarterly on Recycled Paper - April 4, 2000

QUARTERLY BOARD MEETING COMING UP ON APRIL 20- EVERYONE IS WELCOME

The meeting will be at the Old Fish Hatchery on C.M.Allen Parkway behind the Chamber at 6 p.m. Minigrants for the schools, River Awareness Month, the annual budget for the coming year, bylaw changes, and the Water Quality and Quantity Committee's recent work will be discussed. The public is welcome. SMRF meetings are monthly at this same location and time, third Thursday of each month. River Awareness Month Calendar: Be Sure to Mark These Dates on Your Calendar!

April 8 - GO NATIVE!
Help plant native plants at the Wetland Restoration Project at Aquarena. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, see article here.

April 13 -TALK
with Dave Sugeno re using local native plants in landscaping to save water. 6 p.m., Thursday, at Old Fish Hatchery Building, see see Comments here. ALSO Native Plant Society meeting and established native planting tour at Aquarena, 7 p.m., for info call Dan Hosage, 353-3944.

April 15 -TRASHURE HUNT

Tthe River cleanup that will focus on divers, see article here.

April 17 - TEXAS WATCH
Press Conference on statewide water sampling event, see article here.

April 18 - RIVER RANGERS
Participate in statewide sampling event , see article here.

April 19 - WATER PLANNING CONFERENCE
Activity Center, 8-5, see article here. ALSO Greenbelt Alliance presentation at Rotary Club at noon, see article here. ALSO Greenbelt Alliance membership meeting at 6 p.m, Public Library, see article here.

April 20 -SMRF Board meeting
6 p.m., at Old Fish Hatchery Bldg. behind Chamber on C. M. Allen

April 22 - 30th Annual Earth Day
Celebration in Sewell Park, noon till dusk, music and river fun.

April 28 - Deadline for teachers to turn in minigrant applications
for funds to do special river and aquifer curriculum, see article here. Also Crockett third-graders' presentation to SMRF board about their River studies.

April 29 - GREENBELT ALLIANCE WALK,
Prospect Street greenspace, 10 a.m. ALSO free Hooked on Fishing and River Awareness Expo for families, by Teacher Jay Whitley's junior high students, at Old Fish Hatchery Building on C. M. Allen, 9 a.m.-1.

Members of the SWT chapter of the National Association of Environmental Professionals worked hard to clean up a decades-old dump, recycling a major portion of the trash. The dump was on the banks of Sessom Creek.

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PRESIDENT'S COMMENTS

River Awareness Month has really caught on this year, after over ten years of being primarily a SMRF celebration of the River and its unique ecosystem and watershed. This year there are so many great events all during the month of April of interest to SMRF members who care about the aquifer and the river, that SMRF can hardly find a time to hold its own event. What a wonderful predicament!

The solution: declare River Awareness Year, and have events all during the year 2000. This way everyone will have the time and energy to attend more of the walks and talks that SMRF has traditionally held in April. Watch the Record's Community Calendar for notice of such events this year.

The one event SMRF will sponsor this April is an important one to those who care about the continued flow of the San Marcos River through the predicted drought. On April 13, local horticulturist Dave Sugeno will speak about plants that survive on little water. This talk is for those who garden, as well as those who don't but still want to have a decent looking yard. Since landscaping takes around 40% of most municipal water supplies, having drought tolerant landscaping can really help save the River, and lower water bills. San Marcans thirst to know what choices to make when they plant. Sugeno will focus on hill country natives.

This spring looks lush and green thus far, but we all know that dry times are coming, as they do almost every year. Native plants can withstand this "feast or famine" kind of rainfall pattern that central Texans have to deal with, and many are beautiful to boot. The fact that they serve as food and nectar for our local birds, butterflies, and other wildlife is a surprise bonus.

See details about Dave's talk on the cover page, as well as many other fascinating local events that you can attend to celebrate River Awareness Month. Make a point of enjoying the River in your own way this spring. We are so lucky to have such a gem in our midst, and we hope to keep it that way.

NEW YEAR, GREAT PARTY, NEW BOARD MEMBERS, NEW OFFICERS, THE WORK GOES ON

SMRF members gathered for fun and festivity at their annual membership meeting in the new Greenhouse Interpretive Center at the end of January. A beautiful building it has turned out to be, and a perfect companion to the new Tourist Center next door. The work to make it a useful museum about our River and history will continue over the next year or so, and many civic organizations will be a part of that work, including SMRF, the Native Plant Society, Master Naturalists, Heritage, etc.
The election of new board members John Tolbert, Carolyn Kelly, and David Newman took place at the annual meeting. They have joined members Therese Whalen, Dana Ray, Mark Boucher, Al Groeger, Kathryn Chaney, and Dianne Wassenich to make up the current SMRF Board of Directors. The board quickly distributed the duties of running the organization among themselves, and the year was off to a great start with hardly a pause.

Officers were elected at the first meeting of the Board. Secretary is Dana Ray, Treasurer is Carolyn Kelly, Vice-President is Therese Whalen, and President is Dianne Wassenich. The Water Quality/Quantity Committee of Dr. Jack Fairchild and Tom Wassenich was reappointed, as was the Investment Committee led by Mark Boucher. Volunteers signed up at the annual membership meeting for many other projects and committees, so the year 2000 promises to be a busy and productive one for SMRF.

The annual budget was drafted at the first meeting of the board, and conferences with SMRF's bookkeeper Rhonda Ellis and CPA/Auditor Mary Borm have further refined it. And good news! More SMRF educational and River preservation work will be funded this year than ever before, thanks to the members who continue to support SMRF with membership dues and donations over the years.

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WANT TO HELP PLANT NATIVES AT AQUARENA TO RESTORE THE SLOUGH WETLAND?

Show up with work clothes and gloves on Saturday, April 8, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the SWT Biology Department will put you to work. Volunteers from the community and the Conservation Biology Class will plant native trees and shrubs along the slough where exotic trees and shrubs were cleared recently. Tools will be provided, but you can bring your own shovel if you label it and keep track of it. Wear sunscreen, bring drinking water, work as long as time and energy will allow. A free picnic will follow. For information call Dr. Paula Williamson at 245-3312 or email pw04@swt.edu if you'd rather.

Funding for this planting event has come from Texas Parks and Wildlife, who will be building the Texas Rivers Center at the San Marcos Springs on the site of Aquarena in coming years, after the existing buildings, parking lots, and paved paths are removed from the grounds. The historic hotel will be used in the interim for offices, so if you want to stay there before it closes down as a hotel, do it before the end of September this year. Take a vacation weekend in your own home town.

NEWS OF THE DAY! CAMP GARY SEWAGE NOW GOING TO CITY'S WASTEWATER PLANT!

This is what SMRF members have been waiting for--the news that the aging Camp Gary sewage treatment plant is shut down and the pipeline to the City plant has been completed. Gary's former discharge point was just above Cottonseed Rapids near the Spring River subdivision of Martindale. Gary's poor quality effluent is now much improved before it hits the River, thanks to the excellent treatment the City plant now provides. The "Upgrade to 5-5-2-1" bumper sticker worked!

The next good news for SMRFers will come this summer when the new A. E. Wood Fish Hatchery treatment plant will go on line. Not a moment too soon, since predicted low springflows will mean that there will not be much fresh water to dilute all the wastewater discharges into the River.

This new century is the perfect beginning to a newly renewed good water quality in the San Marcos River, and all SMRF members can be proud of the work they did to accomplish this, with their donations, their letters, and other volunteer work during the past ten years of discharge hearings and legal efforts. Of special note is the devoted and ever vigilant Water Quality/Quantity Committee, Dr. Jack Fairchild and Tom Wassenich. They also continue to monitor new permits as they crop up.

TNRCC CONSIDERS ALLOWING MORE POLLUTION IN RIVER, LOWERING STANDARDS

The stream standards are a set of rules that the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (the state department that is supposed to protect the environment) uses to determine the maximum amounts of substances allowed in a stream section. Computer models are used to determine pollution loads the stream can handle and still meet those standards, when discharges are permitted.

There is an attempt this year to allow higher chloride and sulfate levels, and suspended solids, in the San Marcos River. They did not single out our River, but are trying to allow a generally higher level to the whole basin, justifying it by saying that natural levels are pretty high in central Texas streams because of the calcium content of spring water. GBRA, the Guadalupe/Blanco River Authority, agreed with this basin-wide lowering of the standard. SMRF, on the other hand, would like to see the unique and now very clean San Marcos River to be kept that way, leaving the standard as is.

Research shows this River is "maxxed-out" as far as these solids are concerned, preventing more discharge permits. New discharges high in these solids would cause the stream to flunk the computer model. So SMRF protested the proposed changes during the public comment period, writing a letter to TNRCC quoting data showing that the River meets the current standards quite handily, so the standards should not be weakened. SMRF protested stream standard changes previously to no avail, but decided to speak up for the River anyway, providing TNRCC with the pertinent data.

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RECHARGE ZONE PROTECTED BY NEW CITY DEVELOPMENT RULES

The Council of Neighborhoods stood with the environmentally minded members of the community to support the Development Ordinance Task Force, the Planning and Zoning Commission, and the City Council in their changes to the City ordinances that govern building on the recharge zone of the Edwards Aquifer. Large numbers of people showed up to express support for the stricter rules at public meetings, especially at the three readings of the ordinance at Council meetings.

Months of effort by the local "greens" and neighbors paid off with these new stricter ordinances which will protect creeks with buffer zones of vegetation, set up impervious cover limits to make sure that some vegetation is left uncovered by asphalt or buildings, and give special protection for recharge features like caves and sinkholes. This long effort will also have long-lasting effects in shaping the growth and density of San Marcos, and encouraging growth in areas that are not so environmentally sensitive (those without holey limestone and thin soil cover).

As John McBride of the neighborhood along Ranch Road 12 stated, "It is the responsibility of government to look out for all of us, and to make rules for the common good." Endangering the aquifer is sometimes the preference of an individual or two, but the mountains of scientific data presented during this rule formation process clearly showed that the new aquifer protective rules were for the common good. There was a tremendous amount of press coverage, as well as hours of testimony by governmental agencies along with local citizen involvement, truly a team effort.

GREENBELT ALLIANCE SPONSORS WALKS IN NEW CITY GREENSPACES

The Greenbelt Alliance is taking time out from their work on a greenspace masterplan with area governments and non-profit organizations, to get their own group organized with bylaws, a logo, and written materials to be used in presentations. Many SMRF members are involved with the Greenbelt Alliance, and SMRF helped the GA with seed money to get started in '98. Groups like the Rotary Club have begun inviting Greenbelters to come talk to their organization about the master plan idea. Grant packages are being worked on to get trails built in selected greenspaces, and buy more land.

Efforts of the Alliance were helpful in supporting the City in their recent purchases of three greenspaces in San Marcos: Schulle Canyon, Prospect Street, and along Sessom Creek. The City held a well attended ribbon cutting of those greenspace purchases in February, and is co-sponsoring walks in those properties this spring. March's Sessom Creek walk had about 30 participants, who met up with 25 SWT students cleaning up an old dump along the creek at the end of the walk. Everyone pitched in and helped get the huge pile cleaned up and recycled. The students were part of the SWT chapter of the National Association of Environmental Professionals, pictured on the front page of this newsletter.

Additional greenspace walks will be held on April 29, 10 a.m., at the dead end of Prospect, and May 20, also at 10 a.m. at the dead end of Alamo, west of Holland. Keeping creeks and important watersheds like Sessoms natural will help water quality in the River, so SMRF is happy to support this initiative. The next meeting of the GA is on April 19, 6 p.m. inside the Public Library in the glass workroom. Dues are $25/yr. For info email northstar@corridor.net or call Chris North at 392-3932.

COTTAGE KITCHEN LUNCHEON SUCCESSFUL AS ALWAYS

Thanks to the many SMRFers who baked, cooked, and served at the annual February luncheon SMRF does at the Cottage Kitchen. Around 90 people were served, and a tidy sum deposited to the Heritage Association bank account. SMRF is happy to do this every year because the Heritage Association was a founding and major donor to SMRF's endowment fund, and continues to be a voice for preservation of the beautiful San Marcos River. They were instrumental in getting the River Walk through the parkland along the River established. So eat at the Cottage Kitchen every Friday lunch!

THANKS TO ALL WHO HELPED AT THE MARCH RIVER CLEANUP

Hundreds came from all over Texas to clean up the whole 90 miles of River. Tom Goynes coordinated, TG Canoes and Spencer's Canoes assisted with canoes and shuttles. Free camping provided by Shady Grove and Pecan Park Retreat, a Woody's Barbecue supper by SMRF and the Texas River Recreation Association. Fabulous desserts provided by Martindale and San Marcos bakers, and an outstanding huge collection of cookies provided by Gary Job Corps Culinary Department. Tons of trash, mountains of tires, and a massive recycling effort by Green Guy Recycling. Thanks to ALL who pitched in, this is somewhere around the 28th anniversary of this particular cleanup, if we haven't lost count.

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TRASHURE HUNT COMING UP, ALWAYS PLENTY MORE TRASH FOR EVERYONE

The Dive Shop and the City will be holding the annual Trashure Hunt on April 15. Many Adopt-a-River groups will join with the scuba divers and snorkelers who come from all over Texas to enjoy the San Marcos River and plumb the depths to find the really interesting trash below the surface. There will be prizes for unusual trash, large amounts of trash, door prizes, etc. Registration is at the Lion's Tube Rental area from 9-10 a.m. on Saturday, cleanup is over at 4, and then the prizes will be awarded and a thank-you barbecue dinner served. Noon Lions and SMRF also are sponsors.

HEARING HELD ON IH 35 WIDENING, SMRF ATTENDED AND FILED WRITTEN COMMENTS

The Texas Department of Transportation held a recent public hearing on their plans to widen IH 35 through San Marcos . SMRFers thoroughly questioned the plans for the bridges over the San Marcos and Blanco Rivers, and the Board voted to send written comment to TXDOT asking for filtration basins on the Blanco Bridge, similar to filtration proposed for the San Marcos River Bridge. There is no filtration on the plans for the Blanco, but the San Marcos bridge will be a very big improvement to the current one where the oily highway runoff goes straight into the River. Since traffic increases by the day on that highway, this should have significant positive impact on the water quality. This water quality concern for the San Marcos is driven by the federal protection for the endangered species.

RIVER RANGERS AND TEXAS WATCH HAVE STATEWIDE SAMPLING DAY APRIL 18

Water monitoring volunteers will be taking samples all over Texas and posting the day's results on their website at http://www.texaswatch.geo.swt.edu to celebrate 30 years of environmental stewardship brought about by Earth Day. Our local River Rangers, and over 2,000 other volunteer river, bay, and creek testers will work at their own sampling sites to gather this info. SMRF is a long time partner of Texas Watch, which is now based at SWT's Geography Department. SMRF helps with funding the purchase of test kits and supplies for the San Marcos River Rangers, and the Pride Center's volunteer river monitors as well. The River Rangers test all the way to Luling now on the San Marcos River, and the Pride Center group tests the Blanco.

ALARMING NEWS OF WATER QUALITY DETERIORATION IN HAYS COUNTY

The first report is back from the Sustainability Indicators Project (which SMRF distributed questionaires for last year in the newsletter during River Awareness Month). The Indicators group in which City Biologist Melani Howard participated, looked at central Texas economic, environmental, and social health issues. The group used the monitored water bodies in the area to see which meet state water quality standards, and in Hays County, the news turned out to be alarming! Only 50% of those water bodies are meeting the standards in 1999, while 88% of them met the standards in 1994. Major drop. SMRF needs to find out more about this, and see which streams are included in these statistics. The Indicators booklet is a fascinating read, and will be placed in the River Foundation file at the Public Library for those who wish to see a snapshot of the region at this point in time.

WATER 2000 CONFERENCE IN SAN MARCOS, AIMED AT EDUCATING THE MASSES

This April 19,an 8-5 conference at the Activity Center is sponsored by a host of governmental agencies, aimed at "providing decision makers with the info they need to make effective decisions about their community's water needs". Anyone can attend, who has $50 for the registration fee, to listen to talks about all aspects of water use and reuse, groundwater marketing, brush and land management, conservation and drought planning, etc. The most interesting segment on the agenda to SMRFers, of course, is the talk by lawyer Brian Sledge, all about using Bed & Banks for municipal water conveyance! Following on his heels is a talk by Cindy Loeffler of Texas Parks & Wildlife, which is titled "Ecological Considerations of Bed & Banks Permits". Someone from SMRF will be sure to attend. County commissioner continuing education units can be received for attending. For info about registering, call Billy Kniffen, Hays County Extension Agent at 393-2120 or email b-kniffen@tamu.edu.

DISCHARGE PERMIT FOR NEW SURFACE WATER PLANT BEING SCRUTINIZED BY SMRF

The recent application of the City for a discharge permit from their new drinking water plant that treats Lake Dunlap water has piqued the interest of SMRF, since the discharge will be into Snake Creek which runs into the San Marcos River near the new RV park on Hwy. 80 called Wolf Creek Ranch. The permit is vague about restrictions on the chemicals in the discharge, and SMRF is worried about a chemical or chlorine spill that could then be permitted to wash out of the holding ponds at the plant, into the creek. The operator of the plant, GBRA, reassured SMRF that this discharge is only for high rainfall events, but this is not yet written into the permit. Since there are three large holding ponds, the real need for a discharge is also questionable. SMRF, and many of its members, have asked for a public meeting with TNRCC to discuss this permit to get it written properly.

The City had to discharge a great deal of chlorinated water from this plant for weeks to relieve pressure from the emergency hurry-up connection done to the plant in order to meet San Marcos water needs when several major water lines broke this winter. SMRF brought this to the attention of the Kills & Spills Dept. of Texas Parks & Wildlife because the discharges caused fish kills. Kill and Spills helped the City set up dechlorination procedures to be used in such emergencies in the future, and recommended that the pipe that relieves pressure at the plant be moved away from the Blanco River bank, where it is now constructed. No word on when that will be done, yet. The reason that water has to be released when pressure gets too high is that there is no variable speed on the pumps, which was a City cost-cutting measure. The pumps run only at full speed, or off. The City hopes that this release of pressure was an unusual occurrence and will not happen again. SMRF encourages vigilance by local residents to watch for more discharges into the Blanco River or Snake Creek.

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BIRDING NEWS, GOLDEN-CHEEKED WARBLERS LOVE SAN MARCOS

The great current birding info that can be heard on 396-BIRD, or read in the monthly columns in the Daily Record has interesting news this month about another endangered species. Golden- cheeked Warblers are being sighted in the Brown and Prospect Street area, some in local bird baths!

SMRF GIVES GRANTS FOR SCHOOLS TO DO RIVER AND AQUIFER RELATED STUDIES

The minigrants and honorariums given to local schools last year are coming to fruition this year, and several articles have run in recent newspapers about the projects being accomplished. Everything from murals about the aquifer to training new water testing volunteers, studying River creatures, and learning about water quality and how it affects fish is being studied by elementary through high school aged students. The grants for the coming year will be awarded to Prairie Lea and Luling schools as well as San Marcos ones, and the deadline is April 28 for teachers who will send in applications. The grants are for up to $500, with a $200 honorarium attached for the winning teacher. For information call Kyle Wilson at the Pride Center, 393-6864, or Carolyn Kelly, Fentress,488-2012.

RAIN, RIVER FLOWS, AQUIFER LEVELS, SALTY BAYS, HUNGRY WHOOPERS

As this newsletter is being written on April 2, rainfall is soothing the dry San Marcos landscape, and 3-5 inches is predicted, and hoped for. The River flow is 116 cfs (cubic feet per second) at University Bridge, and 117 cfs at Luling. This is the same flow as in January, and very low for this time of year. The Edwards Aquifer J-17 index well is at 658 feet on March 31.
This spring brought several small rains, keeping the J-17 index well level hovering at or above the point which a new stricter stage of water conservation is mandated. So even though the situation was fairly desperate this winter at the coast, where the springflows from the San Marcos River make up the majority of the fresh water needed by the bays and estuaries during these dry times, there was little attention being paid to water conservation up in central Texas.

The TNRCC Watermaster was questioned by SMRF about the high salinity problem in San Antonio Bay, where the San Marcos, Blanco, and Guadalupe Rivers pour out to the Gulf. SMRF's questions were prompted by press reports that the Whooping Cranes were suffering from lack of fresh water supplies and food sources like crabs that depend on delicately balanced water salinity levels. The Watermaster stated, "Salinity is a water quality problem, and not my job". He simply did not understand that saline conditions are brought about by not enough fresh river water, though he is the only government entity who regulates how much river water is taken out for various water rights. Fortunately the coastal bays received heavy rains recently, up to 12 inches in the Corpus Christi area near San Antonio Bay, and the whoopers have flown back to Canada for the summer, where conditions are better.

REFERENDUM ON AQUARENA COMING UP, SMRF NOT CAMPAIGNING

City Councilman Ed Mihalkanin asked that a non-binding referendum on whether the City should try to purchase Aquarena be placed on the May ballot. SMRF's understanding of the reason this was suggested is that many San Marcans felt that it was a way to rebuke SWT for its poor stewardship of the property since acquiring it. After discussion in Council, the referendum was made non-binding, since the City knows it could not afford the purchase, even if it were for sale. SMRF board members looked at the proposal and decided not to take a position or campaign on this issue, since SMRF has been involved in River issues for years in which the City proved to be a poor steward also.

NEWS BITS AND PIECES

EZELL'S CAVE: The cleanup sponsored by the owner, the Nature Conservancy, was well attended, and many volunteers saw the inside of the cave as well. SMRF continues to work on getting the equipment in the cave fixed so that the aquifer water in the cave can be monitored for effects of local runoff.
POWER PLANT: SMRF continues to research the proposed discharge from the plant to make sure it does not harm the San Marcos River. Under current TNRCC stream standards, the River cannot take any more pollution, so new ways of reusing water must be developed, rather than discharge permits.

SALAMANDER VISIT: SMRF members Mike Stanley and Dianne Wassenich visited Doris Miller Jr. High for Career Day in March. Mike was in the Blind Salamander costume, and Dianne passed out water conservation bookmarks from the Edwards Aquifer Authority, and told kids about how important their science courses were if they wanted to someday have jobs helping out the environment.

ARMBRISTER SPEECH AT SWT: Several SMRF members attended the annual Cape Lecture and heard the local State Senator, who is also Chair of the Natural Resources Committee for the next session, speak on "Texas Water at the Millenial Crossroads". Of particular interest was the amount of time he spent on desalination in his talk, considering it a vital to providing water for the growth of Texas. He promised that the Legislature would be looking at groundwater law in the coming session.

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