Jack Fairchild, President of the Board

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COVER OF TEXAS PARKS & WILDLIFE MAGAZINE

The beautifully photographed July '03 issue has an article about San Antonio Bay, titled "The Whooper's Table", about the need for fresh water to flow to the Guadalupe Estuary from the Blanco, San Marcos, and Guadalupe Rivers. Written by Michael Berryhill, the article states, "A nonprofit group called the San Marcos River Foundation has moved the issue of environmental water to the top of the state's water planning agenda by applying for 1.3 million acre-feet of water rights in the Guadalupe" (and San Marcos River). The article also notes the importance of the health of the bays and estuaries of Texas to the shrimping, commercial fishing, recreational fishing, birding and tourism industries plus rural communities.

DUES REMINDER AND HOW TO GET INVOLVED IN PROTECTING THE RIVER WITH SMRF

The envelope taped into your newsletter is a gentle reminder to help members pay their 2003 dues. To help everyone remember when they last contributed, the database manager for SMRF has coded each label with a color. If you have no color on your label, you have either already paid your 2003 dues, or you are a lifetime member. If you have a yellow mark, you last paid your dues in 2002. Green means you have not paid since 2001 or earlier, so newsletters may not continue to be mailed after this one. SMRF board members will make a round of final phone calls to make sure these records are correct before newsletters are discontinued. Thanks to all who have already sent in their 2003 dues! If the way your label is marked is incorrect, please contact SMRF at 393-3787.

Dues are spent on the many ongoing projects like river cleanups, buying water quality test kits/supplies for the River Ranger volunteers, and funding the water quality equipment and repairs on units in the aquifer in Ezell's Cave and in Lake Dunlap where the San Marcos drinking water comes from, educational work with schools and Aquarena Center, and mailing newsletters. This is important work that deserves to be funded, so help SMRF add to the membership list by giving a gift membership to a friend or relative when paying your own membership dues. Members receive a quarterly mailed newsletter and are welcome to email SMRF to be added to the weekly email update list. This allows everyone to get involved in volunteer opportunities that come up on short notice. To be added to the email list, send a request to wassenich@sanmarcos.net

SMRF's board meets every month on the last Wednesday of the month at 6:30 at the Freeman Building on the SWT campus. The Freeman Building is on Sessoms Drive, across from the Joe's restaurant. Visitors are always very welcome. Once a year in January, SMRF members gather for a party and to elect board members.

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ENVISION CENTRAL TEXAS ---COME HEAR ALL ABOUT IT SEPT. 29, 7 P.M.

An effort is underway to involve every person who lives in a five county area around Austin in planning for future growth, by a nonprofit entity called Envision Central Texas. Similar efforts have been helpful for cities in Oregon and Utah. Many SMRF members attended workshops and expressed their individual opinions last fall for this ECT planning project. In late July an ECT presentation was made in San Marcos about the four possible types of growth plans or models that the public will get to review this fall. At the end of September, there will be ECT questionnaires inserted into every newspaper in the five counties involved, and every person can fill one out and send it in, or do it on-line or by phone. There will also be special gatherings, like the one on Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. at the Activity Center to inform people and allow discussion about the four very different plans, before answering the questionnaires. Be sure to participate and get friends and family to participate too. Sign up for the SMRF email list so you will get notices about these meetings by emailing wassenich@sanmarcos.net today.

This ECT effort is very important for the future of this area, the air, the water, the tax rates, utility rates and more. See the website for more information at www.envisioncentraltexas.org and review the four scenarios in advance, or watch for the information leaflet inserted in your newspaper. Computer modeling by ECT planners show how different types of growth affect how much of the recharge zone is covered, how much congestion on highways for commuters is predicted, how that affects air quality, how much infrastructure will cost like water and wastewater lines, etc. It helps make it fairly easy to choose which scenarios are good for future generations as well as current residents. The numbers of questionnaires returned will have a big impact on whether a sensible kind of growth is actually implemented by local governing bodies. Please give ECT your opinions and preferences via this questionnaire.

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AQUIFER LEVEL AND RIVER FLOWS HOLDING ABOVE AVERAGE THIS YEAR

In mid-August, the Edwards Aquifer level in the J-17 well was 679.3 ft. above sea level. The Edwards Aquifer level which triggers drought restrictions is 650 ft. and pumping reductions begin when the level drops to 630 ft. This has been an unusually good year for the aquifer, with heavy rains on the recharge zone, ever since the massive flood of July 2002, when 50+ inches of rainfall were received in some areas. The San Marcos River flow in mid-August was 176 cfs (cubic feet per second), which is quite high when you consider that the average 20 year historical flow (1969-1989) of San Marcos River is only 157.9 cfs. The historical low flow was 46 cfs in mid-August, 1956. This is the year to really enjoy the river, while it is having such good flows.

LIONS CLUB BUILDS NEW WATER SAVING RESTROOMS FOR CITY PARK

Visitors to the City Park this summer have new restrooms, courtesy of the Lions Club, to the tune of $25,000 plus labor donated by the Lions. They were lucky to have their long time member Ron Knotts as the general contractor for the job, for which he won "Lion of the Month" in July. The best thing about the new restrooms is that the toilets are water-savers--- long needed and much appreciated by the community and SMRF. The restrooms are located in the former tube storage area, near the SMRF information kiosk about the river which the Lions Club also funded. The Lions contribute to many projects in the community and are one of the major contributors along with the Heritage Association, who established the original endowment fund of SMRF. In recent years, the Lions have funded many water quality projects through SMRF, like test kits for the San Marcos River Ranger volunteer river testers, and the Ezell's Cave equipment that monitors aquifer water quality.

STATE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD GIVEN TO SMRF

Local LWV and SMRF members attended the state LWV banquet in San Antonio to accept the award recognizing SMRF's efforts to keep Texas rivers flowing.

SMRF DONATES TO NEW WATER QUALITY TESTING PROJECT ON LAKE DUNLAP

SWT (Tx. State) professor in the Aquatic Biology Program, Dr. Al Groeger is leading the important effort to monitor water quality in the Lake Dunlap area. San Marcos gets most of its drinking water from Lake Dunlap now, which is a dammed area in the Guadalupe River just east of IH 35 at New Braunfels. This water, when used and passed through the wastewater plant to be cleaned, is then discharged into the San Marcos River. The monitoring project uses a new kind of equipment that runs up and down daily in the lake, in one spot, to measure layers of water and various water quality indicators and temperature. This is the first time this type of equipment has been used in Texas. Preserve Lake Dunlap and Friends of Lake McQueeney, Canyon Regional Water Authority, and the International Sustainable Water Resource Institute at SWT are the major contributors to this water quality project, and SMRF's board voted to assist with a donation as well. The testing will go on for several years, and more donations are being requested to keep it operating.

TRASH, PARKING, AND OTHER PROBLEMS INTENSIFYING ON RIVER NEAR MARTINDALE

The numbers of people using the river for tubing downstream of San Marcos has taken a marked upswing this year. Some believe it is because the floods of July 2002 shut down the Guadalupe last summer for several months, so many people discovered the San Marcos as a substitute tubing location. Some think it is because increasingly tighter laws regarding drinking on the Guadalupe have made it more appealing to a certain segment to come to San Marcos instead. Having high flow rates in the river this year has certainly made the tube trip faster than normal, though it is still much slower than the Guadalupe. Many tubers enter the river not realizing how many long hours it takes to get from one crossing to another, with nothing but alcohol in their ice chests.

At any rate, parking problems which block the roads at Westerfield and other crossings, trash problems, dangerous big public brawls at the local stores, underaged drinking and drug use, serious wrecks, and numerous confrontations with riverside landowners over beer cans thrown or broken glass and human waste left on their property, have mushroomed this year. SMRF's board passed a resolution to encourage vigorous enforcement of all the existing laws to try to get the problems under control, and make sure the river is a safe and clean place for visitors and residents.

Caldwell County's Sheriff Daniel Law and his deputies, Hays County Sheriff's Dept. and Capt. Williams, and Department of Public Safety's Colonel Wolpman have been patrolling and ticketing offenders of DWI and drug laws, speeding and parking. The Caldwell County Environmental Officer has dealt with sanitation violations. DPS is working with Martindale's Police Chief to help handle DWI prosecutions.

Hays County Commissioner Debbie Inglesbee has assisted greatly by coordinating with law enforcment officials and replacing the "No Parking" signs first installed ten years ago at Westerfield crossing. These signs were knocked down and stolen this spring, causing further problems with enforcement of parking policies put in place ten years ago by agreement with local landowners, canoers, and County Commissioners. Now canoers and swimmers and tubers will once again be able to load or unload their boats and gear at the river in the gravel area where the boats can be put in. Then they must take their vehicles past the No Parking signs, several hundred yards from the river, to park on the side of the road. The buses and trailers full of boats or tubers can also unload in the gravel area, without blocking the roadway. Big farm equipment or trucks like the pesticide truck that recently almost fell into the river, can change their minds about crossing the river and turn around in that gravel area and head back to Staples Road, without backing up for miles. That is why the No Parking areas were originally established, and also for the safety of the many people including children who are milling around at that popular river crossing and swimming hole.

Please call in dangerous or drunk drivers and public brawls to 911 immediately, to prevent innocent victims from being hurt as well as the offenders. The area law enforcement officials are all familiar now with the growing problem and will respond promptly. Parking and sanitation problems can be dealt with by calling the non-emergency numbers of the counties or DPS. Attacking dogs can be turned in to the Sheriff's Department. Please assist in this effort for the safety of all.

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PARKS BOARD GIVES AWARDS TO CITIZENS FOR PARKS SUPPORT

Dr. Jack Fairchild, President of the SMRF Board and also Lions Club President this year, received the award from Chair Sherwood Bishop of the City Parks Board. The award recognized the positive impact on the City's parks by Dr. Fairchild through his volunteer work, and awards were also given to Ken Bell of the City's Park Rangers and Alan Holt, donor of 80 acres of Blanco riverside land for the City's park system.

WANT TO HELP MONITOR RIVER WATER QUALITY WITH THE RIVER RANGERS?

Call 557-7571 to be put on the list of those wanting to be trained at the next session the San Marcos River Rangers hold. This volunteer group tests the San Marcos River regularly at sites from Aquarena to Luling, and many of the volunteers have been doing this for years. There are always new slots available though, as people move away from the area, so call today to get their training schedule.

WOULD YOU RATHER PLANT AQUATIC PLANTS TO REPLACE EXOTICS?

Email bgrod@swt. edu to get on the volunteer list for this worthy project. Over the past year, Paula Power of the National Fish Hatchery on McCarty and Ben Grod, volunteer coordinator for this project, have led a crew of volunteers in using an innovative large suction device to vacuum up the exotic Sri Lankan plant called water trumpet from the floor of the river near the City Wastewater Plant and State Fish Hatchery. Now the volunteers will be planting native vegetation to replace the exotic plants. With the hot weather, this is a great time to volunteer for a fun job that is accomplishing a worthy goal. There are also jobs for people on the river bank, so you don't have to get wet if you do not want to be in the river. Half day shifts are also possible, if the 9-3 shift does not work for you. Or call 353-0011, ext. 226.

NWF SURVEY SAYS "TEXANS WANT RIVERS AND BAYS FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS"

The National Wildlife Federation commissioned a well respected polling agency to ask a representative sample of Texans how they felt about making sure that rivers would continue to flow in the future, and provide bays with enough water to survive. The results were overwhelmingly in favor of preserving minimum adequate flows so future generations could also have healthy rivers and bays. The press release about this survey, with sample questions listed and details about percentages of Texans agreeing, are on a very interesting website, www.texaswatermatters.org . The whole website is full of good information, but to see the specific article about the survey results, click on Resources in the bar at the top of the page and then scroll down through the press releases to look for the "Survey" article.

THANKS TO THOSE WHO CARE ABOUT THE RIVER

The Campfire kids have been learning about how trash and cigarette butts go into storm drains and get washed into the river from all over town. The group had a field trip to SWT to pick up butts to give the college students a lesson by seeing the kids in action. The kids gathered 3000 butts in one hour, filling a 5 gallon bucket. To reward them, they got a free lunch and glass bottom boat ride at Aquarena, and a certificate of thanks. They plan to do it again in February.

The family of Charles Reubush chose SMRF to be the recipient of memorials in his name. The cypress tree planted in his memory is doing very well on the riverbank in an area that needs revegetating between Cheatham Street and the Little League Park. The tree is securely fenced to prevent vandalism and planted close enough to the river that its roots are well watered. The only danger to it is the nearby bank erosion from heavy use by dogs that claw their way up the bank to get out of the river, and that is a problem that needs solving.

Bobcat Build is a great volunteer project involving SWT students in the community, holding its first annual work day under the able organizational direction of Kim Porterfield, the SWT-Community Liason. All kinds of work was done around town, but the ones who cleaned the City parks along the river are especially thanked by SMRF. The Greenbelt Alliance also had help from a crew that cleaned up Schulle Canyon.

DON HENLEY PRESS CONFERENCE AT CAPITOL

A press conference at the Capitol by well known songwriter, musician and conservationist Don Henley (pictured above) was covered by many newspapers across the state this spring. He has also founded the Caddo Lake Institute and works to protect that natural lake. Henley's eloquent and direct statement at the press conference was supportive of SMRF because "Texas rivers and bays are stressed and dying", while water rights for pumpers are continually being granted, even when it is apparent that too many water rights have already been granted. Many Texas TV stations, radio stations and newspapers covered the press conference, which also mentioned the NWF Survey written about on p.5.

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PRESS CLIPS ABOUT SMRF

Thanks to the Los Angeles Times who had a front page article in July re SMRF's water right and Western water woes. The Baltimore Sun picked up the story as well. The Gulf Coast Connections fishing magazine gave a full page this spring to an article by SMRf, and the Platte Whooping Crane Trust newsletter did too. The national Whooping Crane Conservation Association ran articles in their newsletter and on their website in support of SMRF. The Victoria Advocate gave front page coverage to a press conference held by the D.M. O'Connor Ranches, expressing their support for the SMRF effort to keep rivers flowing. The Coastal Conservation Association (CCA, a very large saltwater fisherman's group) was there with National Wildlife Federation to express support as well. CCA's newsletter has run several articles in support of SMRF and preserving river flows. The Houston Chronicle ran a front page article about SMRF (with a photo of most of the SMRF board) and the four additional groups which applied for water rights to leave minimum flows in Texas rivers. Many Texas newspapers ran articles about the TCEQ meeting in March, and the importance of the SMRF effort to the future of Texas rivers.

UPDATE ON SMRF'S WATER RIGHT PROJECT AND "STUDY COMMISSION"

This fall will bring meetings by legislators and their appointees to study the Texas policies (or lack thereof) to protect rivers and bays with adequate minimum flows. SMRF and its supporters will be monitoring this "study commission" and trying to speak at the proper time. No news is available at the time of this newsletter about exactly who will be appointed to the study commission.

Back in March the SMRF permit was not sent to a hearing as SMRF had requested. TCEQ Commissioners decided to not even consider the application after SMRF's patient three year wait, despite recommendations by TCEQ staff and attorneys that the case go to a hearing. So SMRF immediately filed a petition asking the District Court in Travis County to require TCEQ to send the permit to a hearing, which SMRF believes is the proper place to hear scientific evidence about setting a minimum adequate flow for the San Marcos and Guadalupe Rivers.

By the time the bill passed that set up the study commission on instream flows, and called for the moratorium on new instream water rights like SMRF's, SMRF had already filed the petition in District Court. SMRF's water right application was originally filed in July 1999 under existing laws, so the petition makes it clear that the application pre-dates by three years the recent bill. SMRF 's board felt this legal action was essential to the continued flow and health of the San Marcos and Guadalupe Rivers and their estuaries. So many water rights have already been granted on these rivers that it will be difficult to keep the river and bays healthy when these rights are fully utilized in the future. There is no plan in place to lower pumping limits when drought comes, like the Edwards Aquifer has. Texas water laws do not protect rivers or bays, so citizens groups have had to step into the void and speak up before it is too late. The Rio Grande is a bitter lesson for Texans, and SMRF will do all it can to make sure that the San Marcos and Guadalupe do not suffer the same fate. Several permits similar to SMRF's for other Texas river systems are coming before TCEQ Commissioners at their September 24th meeting, so it will be interesting to see how the moratorium is handled.

TCEQ COMMISSIONERS' WORKSHOP ON WATER RIGHTS IN JULY

The TCEQ Commissioners held a work session to consider instream water rights issues on July 25 in Austin, with Texas Parks & Wildlife and Texas Water Development Board staff and board members participating. Visitors like SMRF members were not permitted to ask questions, but the large room was full of many interested observers.

Todd Chenowith, Water Rights Permiting Manager, reviewed laws in Texas and several other states, followed by an explanation of how TCEQ protects rivers, bays and estuaries while granting water rights. Several special cases in Texas were mentioned, involving reservoir passage and salinity restrictions, plus the environmental flow restrictions mandated by the Legislature in 1985. Only water rights issued since '85 have to "consider" maintaining environmental flows. He used many graphs generated by the new TCEQ Water Availability Models for every Texas river basin to illustrate the critical nature of the flow in most Texas rivers and how that affects bays and estuaries. He said that presently environmental flows can come only from unused or unappropriated water rights. Critical low flows are often based on water quality requirements for wastewater discharges, rather than instream uses, to be frank.

He plainly stated that Texas water law requires "assessing" water availability, but does not limit granting water rights on that basis. Texas has no mandatory system to reserve flows for environmental uses. Commissioner White also agreed with this statement, saying "This is the law, and TCEQ must follow it". The availability graphs TCEQ staff handed out were eye-opening, even for the East Texas rivers that flow to the coast.

STUDENTS AT AQUARENA

Aquarena's educational workshops for children bring in thousands of students each year. They learn about archeology, watersheds, water pollution, and endangered species in the river and aquifer. Students learn to dissect a fish, and peeking into a box to check on the answer to a question on the top of the box about the artifact inside. They also learn about water pollution, archeology, watersheds, and the local endangered species in the river and aquifer. Monthly Meetings Third Wednesday 6:30 p.m. Freeman Bldg.

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