San Marcos River Foundation Newsletter - Vol. 8, No. 4
Printed Quarterly on Recycled Paper - December 15, 1998

TIME FOR THE ANNUAL DUES AND MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

As the year closes, SMRF requests annual membership dues. This newsletter will be your only notice of dues being due. We are combining this issue (replacing that doomed October quarterly delayed by the flood and aftermath) and the annual dues notice/holiday greeting that SMRF usually sends out in December, to save time and mailing costs. We are extremely sparing with SMRF's money, because your dues and extra donations are essential to continue our river protection work.

The dues form and mailing info is on the last page, so keep it handy to send in now or in January when life settles down after the holidays. Membership dues and donations, combined with interest earned by the endowment fund, make up the budget for SMRF. This enables SMRF to steadily defend the San Marcos River---come rain or shine, or even onward through the fog---as the situation demands. SMRF is the only entity who does this work for the River, and without this money, there would be no way to effectively defend it. In short, your membership in this group is vital if you care about the survival of this unique river and all the species who depend on its clear clean waters, including humans! We welcome your help in any shape or form.

Our annual membership meeting is at the end of January, always a festive social event, with refreshments. It will be at the Public Library Meeting Room again this year at 6 p.m., Friday, January 29. We will go over our financial report for the year (the permit hearings have been expensive, but worth the money!), elect two new borad members, do a quick listing of major accomplishments in '98, and then take suggestions from the membership for our '99 plan for action. We hope you can attend and enjoy being around people who care about the same things you do.

PRESIDENT'S COMMENTS

The entire 8 page newsletter for October was written when the Great Flood hit on October 17, making most of those pages irrelevant, and then the Bed & Banks hearing started, taking our full attention. So we begin anew, as many of those affected by the flood have had to do. So many of SMRF's members were flooded out in varying degrees, and our hearts go out to those who lost their homes and belongings. We are glad that so few lives were lost in our area, but still sad for those who are suffering from serious losses and financial hardship.

This flood was a great awakener, since many had assumed that such a flood was very unlikely, now that there are 5 recharge dams on the San Marcos River watershed. The USGS internet gauges on the Blanco River, that we have relied on for years for our flood updates, only told half the story this time. This points out an urgent need for a river gauge on the San Marcos River, or below the confluence of the two rivers, and this work is underway. (See article, page 3.) Better communication with the media is another way SMRF hopes to help with downstream warnings, and that has already begun, with Channel 7 in Austin, KTBC, taking the lead so far. (See article, page 3.) Since similarly active hurricane seasons are forecast for the next few years, flood warning systems are not something we should wait on.

Searching for the good that can come with terrible times, we look to the River. Those of us who live downstream of San Marcos have not seen such clean water in over 20 years. This flood was a giant flush of all the silt and pollution built up over decades. The water is clear and blue and sparkling, in sharp contrast to all the trash and debris still hanging in the trees. Perhaps with the new San Marcos sewer plant discharging better quality wastewater, this clean River will be preserved for a while. Texas Parks & Wildlife's Fish Hatchery and Camp Gary are well on their way to cutting their polluting discharges, so we have high hopes that SMRF's years of hard work will help preserve this beautiful clean water. The flood gave us all the once-in-a-lifetime chance to practice better River stewardship, not to speak of filling the Edwards Aquifer up.

Thanks for the opportunity to serve as SMRF's president in 1998. I feel good about what the organization has accomplished, and I hope all of you do too. Thanks for your help!

Dianne Wassenich

[back to top]

GRANTS FROM VAUGHN & WRIGHT FOUNDATIONS BUY HYDROLAB AND COMPUTER

Dr. Jack Fairchild, SMRF Water Issues Committee Chair (and immediate past President of SMRF's Board of Directors) is pictured installing SMRF's hydrolab in a spot near Pecan Park to do round-the-clock testing of the water quality of the San Marcos River. This hydrolab was bought with a grant from the Vaughn Foundation, and the laptop computer to download data from the hydrolab was purchased with a grant from the Lola Wright Foundation. Both grants were matched with dues and donations from SMRF members.
The hydrolab is small and made to be chained and locked in various undetectable places along the River. It is calibrated regularly with the technical assistance of SWT Biology professor Dr. Al Groeger, who is also a SMRF Board member. This hydrolab helped SMRF document dangerously low dissolved oxygen readings in the River this past summer, to use as evidence in permit hearings. Once strict permits are in place on this River, compliance can also be monitored with this same equipment.

GREENHOUSE INTERPRETIVE CENTER TO BE FINISHED SOON

The City of San Marcos Parks Department hopes to complete the historic Governor's Greenhouse, re-erected two years ago at IH35 and Riverside Drive, in early '99 with federal Block Grant funds. Through efforts of SMRF and member David Morris of San Marcos, the building was donated to the City by Texas Parks & Wildlife, and then was erected with a grant from the Crook family of San Marcos, on the existing paved surface at that corner (former site of the old DeViney gas station and bait stand). Completion has been delayed slightly by flood repair needs of San Marcos.

The building will be used as an interpretive center about the San Marcos River and its history, with dioramas and other educational exhibits as well as meeting space. The entrance will feature a tile mural of the River and its vegetation and creatures, funded by a grant from the Convention and Visitors Bureau from their hotel /motel tax collections. The Heritage Association and SMRF plan to help fund the dioramas and educational exhibits. SMRF members will be called on to help with the landscape work as well, so get your shovels ready.

TOURIST CENTER PLANNED NEXT DOOR TO GREENHOUSE

Plans are in the works to use part of the existing paved surface next door to the Greenhouse Interpretive Center as the site for a new Tourist Information Center. Other green space will have to be purchased by the City somewhere else to make up for the use of this parkland for a Tourist Center. (Schulle Canyon may fit the bill.) The Tourist Center could enhance the educational potential of the Interpretive Center, since visitors are more likely to stop. The two buildings will be the IH35 entrance to the San Marcos park system, or a "gateway" as Parks Director Rodney Cobb calls it. The trails that follow the River all the way to Aquarena will eventually be linked so that walks will be continuous all the way to the SWT Wetlands project at Spring Lake, and someday, the Texas Rivers Center that TP&W will build at SWT's Aquarena Center. (See 2 articles about the Wetlands Project and the Texas Rivers Center, both at Aquarena, on p. 5)

MARK THE GREAT FLOOD OF '98 ON YOUR PROPERTY

SMRF will have stakes and instructions available to mark the high water line on your property during the October 17 flood, if you wish to participate in this important mapping effort. GBRA is providing the stakes, and the process involves photographing the spot as well. For more information, call Sally Greear at 357-2219. It won't be long before the debris will break down and you will not be able to remember exactly where the line is, so don't delay. It is best to find a place that is permanent to mark, either on a building or power pole, so the marker will not be moved in the future. Sally works at GBRA and can advise you, with the help of their engineer, Tommy Hill.

[back to top]

FLOOD WARNING SYSTEMS PLANNED, MEDIA RECRUITED TO HELP

As several participants said at the meeting held by SMRF at the Martindale Baptist Church in December, "This is the perfect time to talk about flood warning system planning." Most of the time, no one will even show up at such meetings, but after the Great Flood of '98, as many are calling it, such meetings are well attended. USGS staff said they have seen it before, after floods.

Rufus Alexander, President of the Board of the Upper San Marcos Watershed Reclamation and Flood Control District spoke about hopes his board has (despite the lack of funds to implement them) for a system to watch the water levels in the recharge dams. He said the old system is not salvageable. Glenn Longley and Marshall Jennings of the Edwards Aquifer Research Center gave some description of what such a system could be like, and gave some very rough preliminary cost estimates of $10,000 per gauge, with an annual operating and maintenance cost of $1-2,000 each. These are depth gauges at the dams, not river gauges, and this is not happening immediately.

Bill West of GBRA explained how liability enters the picture when flood predictions are made, and how GBRA does work with the National Weather Service anyway to alert County Sheriff's Departments and the media weathermen. West hopes for some legislative correction to the liability laws this year. He also explained the LCRA warning system, which seems to be quite efficient, and how his early career was spent on setting up that system at LCRA. He hopes to eventually get the Guadalupe basin set up identically, and is looking for grants to do this, since GBRA does not have the funds to just go ahead and install the gauges. It will take time.

The only really good news heard during the meeting was that USGS has now increased the capacity of their internet site tx.usgs.gov so enormously that they do not expect the "locking up" problem again that many experienced when trying to find out gauge heights during the recent flood. The Kyle gauge was washed away, and the Wimberley one went underwater during the flood and quit, but they both functioned long enough to warn those who had internet access. The San Marcos one near Clear Springs Apartments on the University Drive bridge also went underwater. Repairs may be a while in coming. USGS does not have funds to build or maintain more gauges, and looks to partners like local communities to work with on more gauging. The two Blanco gauges that SMRF depends on in floods were originally placed there to measure aquifer recharge, and are just incidentally a flood warning system. USGS is losing gauges to funding cuts every year, since flood warning is seldom a high-priority budget item. SMRF hopes that changes after this recent flood!

The meeting also covered media communication during floods. GBRA pledged to help the City of San Marcos in getting an urgently needed radio station in San Marcos. SMRF urged those attending to sign a letter in which SMRF offers encouragement and assistance to any TV or radio station in learning how to use the USGS internet gauges to predict peaks or timing, to help warn people in our unique two-river confluence area. The letter explains that the San Marcos River takes the hill country surges from the Blanco during heavy rain events, and that the growing San Marcos-to-Luling area relies on media from a totally different watershed, since neither town has radio or TV stations. This isa very tough communication problem, complicated by the three-county connection below San Marcos, that needs a lot of patient and persistent work to educate the weathermen.

Channel 7, Austin's KTRBC-TV, has expressed interest in this problem, and will help cover the area. If nothing else, SMRF's organization of the meeting allowed some government entities that do not often see each other to gather and learn new things and talk, always a good thing.

WETLAND PROJECT, CLEANING UP AND BUILDING UP?

SWT's Biology Department held a cleanup session and picnic in September to get students to remove water hyacinths from the slough off Spring Lake at Aquarena (a continuation of their effort to restore the wetlands to attract more native species, which SMRF applauds). They have also received a large grant from the Meadows Foundation to build boardwalks through the wetlands around the slough, with informational kiosks about plants, birds, and wetlands habitat, and SMRF has also budgeted $1000 for this effort. SMRF has already assisted them in several ways like purchasing potting soil to plant small trees, helping plant trees, providing food and assistance at their picnic for the workers after the cleanup session, and providing breakfast for their wetlands seminars for teachers. The Wetlands Project is a separate project from the Texas Rivers Center.

The Wetland Project has now added a large building to their plans, about 22' x 35', at the edge of the slough on piers above the water, for educational displays and meeting space. This is in the floodway, and right on the lake, so a serious look will have to be given to the impact of such a big structure. Since the Wetland Project was to be an example of restoration of wetlands, this building needs to receive very careful consideration by U. S. Fish & Wildlife, Texas Parks & Wildlife, and other authorities, before SWT is given permission to build it. SMRF will keep members posted on this and any other new building and paving projects proposed by SWT on the Aquarena property.

PUBLIC HEARING ON TEXAS RIVERS CENTER AT AQUARENA

SMRF members spoke at a recent public hearing held by U.S. Fish & Wildlife to take comment on the need for an environmental impact study before the new Texas Rivers Center is built by Texas Parks & Wildlife and SWT at the Aquarena Center site. SMRF brought up concerns about local history of poor erosion control practices during construction and lax enforcement by SWT, the City, County, and state agencies. Encouraging extreme caution during construction, SMRF also recommended close attention to planning the parking, so that impervious cover on that site would be reduced, not increased. Other local speakers just talked about increased tourism benefits, and did not address the sensitive nature of the building site, or the environmental impact of the project on Spring Lake and the River. TP&W has now decided to do an environmental impact study.

This educational center is in the planning stage. Architects from the Lake Flato firm have been in town doing research on the history and ecology of the Aquarena site, though they are not yet designated as the designers. The Rivers Center is still a year away from the construction stage.

NEW RULES FOR DEVELOPMENT OVER EDWARDS AQUIFER

The new rules proposed and then adopted by TNRCC (Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission) to widen the "contributing" zone in Hays County and other counties in Texas will begin to address the concerns many local citizens have about development in the hill country affecting the water quality of our streams, rivers and aquifer. SMRF, along with many area groups like the San Antonio League of Women Voters, Sierra Club, and Save Our Springs, actually commented that the rules were too weak. Developers protested that they were too tough. The rules were weakened slightly after the comment period, and put into effect. There will be a few new requirements of builders, but overall, very little enforcement, since TNRCC does not have the funds or staff to watch the area closely. TNRCC depends on citizens who turn in complaints when they see damage done, so members are urged to watch local creeks and streams for changes in water quality, or muddy runoff where there was none before. Track the source down, and turn them in!

RIVER CORRIDOR ORDINANCE GETS REVIEW, AS MAJOR REVIEW IS PLANNED

The Planning and Zoning Board of the City of San Marcos appointed a committee to begin a review of this ordinance in November, after a request by SMRF to do so. The first committee meeting was an eye-opener, when the many flaws were discussed. Before the second monthly meeting convened, the City Council asked Planning staff to review ALL the ordinances that governed building, especially along the River and watersheds. This larger review will take time, but SMRF hopes that it will result in more protective rules before the entire community is paved. The River Corridor Ordinance committee will continue to meet in January and try to make several simple corrections to be passed on to the P&Z Board and Council, to be considered by early spring.

[back to top]

GREENBELT ALLIANCE WALKS PURGATORY, HAS FUNDRAISER TOO

The newly formed Greenbelt Alliance of San Marcos held evening and weekend walks over various tracts of land in the Purgatory Recharge Dam area, with permission of the landowners. Some of the owners have even been guides for the walks in the wild area that begins on Hunter Road near Wonder World Drive and follows Purgatory Creek to a point near Bishop Street and Franklin. The cliffs and hills, as well as birds, plants, and animals have enthralled the ever larger group that gathers to see the edge of our town in its natural state. The walkers are calling them "meanders" rather than hikes, since there is not always a trail to hike on.

Dozens of recharge features, like small caves that take rainfall straight down into the aquifer, have been found during the walks. The Greenbelt Alliance hopes to mark a map with these important features, to make sure that they are protected, since the City of San Marcos is planning a major highway over that area, and is giving developers incentives to do build there.

The Greenbelt Alliance purchased a popcorn machine to be used as their fundraising tool, with part of the seed money granted by SMRF to them. They had a popcorn and coffee booth at Sights & Sounds, and SMRF members helped out. Flavored coffees left from that event are for sale. Call Chris North, 392-3932, if you need some for gifts, or to treat yourself. ($3.00 bag/makes 16 cups.)

EPA PERMITS TURNED OVER TO TNRCC

After years of being one of the few states left in the U.S. who still could not administer the EPA discharge permits into rivers and streams, Texas was granted permission to do that this fall. SMRF saw this as a sad day, since it eliminated the oversight that the federal government had over the state, if federal Clean Water laws were not enforced correctly. SMRF has repeatedly seen that enforcement unfortunately seems to be done by TNRCC only when citizens groups force the issue. The Sierra Club also strongly opposed this action, since they saw that there was no staff or funding in place to handle the permitting, and knew that TNRCC would start off way behind.

NEW WATER RIGHTS FROM SAN MARCOS RIVER REQUESTED

Speaking of lax enforcement, SMRF recently received a copy of a draft permit from TNRCC for withdrawing water from the River for the Green pecan orchard in Martindale. The permit would allow pumping from the River when flows are less than 100 cfs (cubic feet per second) in the late summer, a point at which the River can have dissolved oxygen levels lower than that which TNRCC requires for keeping native fish alive. Such low water flows also cause nutrients to reach such high concentrations that algae has actually covered a great deal of the surface of the water at those late summer, hot weather periods near Martindale in the past few years.
TNRCC continues to grant water rights, and convert old unused irrigation permits to municipal permits, even though everyone knows this River is over-appropriated because TNRCC has been using an antiquated computer stream model. High salinity is a more frequent problem in the coastal bays and estuaries, as less fresh water makes it to the coast during dry spells every year, and productivity of nature's food chain is affected. For these reasons and more, SMRF's board voted to oppose this permit and any other new water right from the San Marcos River, at least until the State's new computer stream model is done in 1999, and can be reviewed by SMRF's experts.

WATER SKI LAKE FILLED FROM THE RIVER DURING MAY DROUGHT

A new water ski lake was built this year in Staples, and filled in a weeklong pumping binge from the San Marcos River during the low flow conditions last May. Despite many complaints by downstream riverside landowners who could see the drop in the River's flow to TNRCC, to the water master Toby Cisneros, and to GBRA (Guadalupe/Blanco River Authority) no one could find a legal way to stop the massive pumps. There is a clause in the State Water Code that allows recreation as a "domestic" use of river water, which historically meant using it for household or livestock watering.

The 12 acre shallow rectangular ski lake, complete with slalom floats and a pavilion, hardly seemed to be an appropriate use of river water in a drought, but SMRF had no legal basis to stand on, and so could not take action. This case will be monitored for future developments, and SMRF will report to its members if any action is needed.

OZARKA CASE ON RULE OF CAPTURE GOES TO SUPREME COURT

Watch the newspapers for the State Supreme Court decision on the Ozarka case, which questions the antiquated state laws allowing anyone who owns land to own it "heaven high and hell deep". This means that deeper wells can be drilled and pumped until neighboring landowners' wells or springs can be pumped dry, if they are more shallow or vulnerable because of their location on a vein of underground water. The case is about Ozarka water bottlers moving in to a site in east Texas and pumping neighboring springs and wells dry by putting in a huge well, but it parallels the catfish farm well, or other issues in the Edwards Aquifer. Hope the Supreme Court does not put off this hot potato for too long. More wells are being drilled every day, and this law has no legs to stand on now that hydrology is a better documented science.

GRATITUDE TO THE HERITAGE ASSOCIATION ON ITS 25TH BIRTHDAY

The Heritage Association of San Marcos (who was the largest contributor to the original endowment fund that allows SMRF to concentrate on its River protection work instead of constantly doing fundraisers) celebrated its 25th Anniversary this year. They plan to install bronze markers at several locations along the River trail system in San Marcos to commemorate their role in beginning the Riverwalk in 1975. Heritage is a large organization that has supported SMRF all these years, and understands how integral a healthy and beautiful San Marcos River is to the entire community.

Speaking of the Heritage Association, remember to mark '99 calendars for the first Friday of February, when SMRF will cook lunch at the Cottage Kitchen, as a fund raiser for the Heritage folks! To volunteer to help cook or serve, call Dianne Wassenich
at 512-393-3787.

BED & BANKS PERMIT UPDATE FROM "HOT NEWS" BUTTON ON WEBSITE

For those who do not have access to the internet, this update is summarized from the more detailed Hot News given by Water Issues Chair Dr. Jack Fairchild to webmaster Dana Blankenship at regular intervals to keep the public up to speed on the complicated hearing process. To reach SMRF's website use the following address: http://www.sanmarcosriver.org
After a long and frustrating discovery process, in which information was very hard to obtain from the City's attorneys and the TNRCC, the Bed & Banks permit hearing began in early November, two weeks after the flood. It lasted 8 long days in Austin, and SMRF attorneys Grant Godfrey and Bill Bunch of the SOS staff in Austin managed to enter a mountain of evidence against the City of San Marcos plan to withdraw drinking water from the San Marcos River as a free and equal exchange for the City wastewater discharged just a mile or two upstream. TNRCC defended the City's case, and SMRF opposed it alone, since Texas Parks & Wildlife dropped out of the hearing a few weeks before, when SMRF refused the settlement offer in the Fish Hatchery permit hearing. (See Fish Hatchery article on next page.) TP&W was subpoenaed by SMRF and did testify to the truth of SMRF's stance that coastal bays and estuaries are suffering more frequent shortages of fresh water in dry periods, damaging the health of those ecosystems.

In fact, so many holes were poked into the City's draft Bed & Banks permit issued by TNRCC, that TNRCC offered to immediately rewrite the draft permit at the conclusion of the hearing. SMRF sees this as a very unusual development. After reviewing the new permit, SMRF sees that many key points were won, tightening restrictions on the City's pumping, even before the final legal briefs are written. These briefs are due in late December, and the hearing examiner will make a decision after that. It may be months before the case actually comes before the TNRCC Commissioners, who are currently short one Commissioner, since their Chair, David McBee, resigned. The wheels of justice grind exceedingly slowly, but at least SMRF feels that headway is being made, after years of delay. Even if the Bed & Banks permit is granted, SMRF will have won much tighter restrictions on the City's pumping. Of course, SMRF hopes the permit is denied, and that the City chooses to move forward instead on true re-use of their wastewater in productive ways that will protect the River and be economically sensible for the City, as cities like New Braunfels and Comfort have done on the Guadalupe River.

[back to top]

FISH HATCHERY HEARING WILL COME NEXT

Texas Parks &Wildlife finally provided answers to the discovery questions asked by SMRF one year ago, a negotiation meeting was held, and the information SMRF received was digested by our River Issues committee, and reported to the SMRF Board. SMRF decided it could not settle for the treatment levels that TP&W offered, which were the same weak standards that TNRCC had put into the draft permit. These levels of pollutants (worse than the City's sewer plant is permitted to discharge) would deteriorate the River to the point that the State's own stream standards could not be maintained, SMRF's engineers concluded after they ran the computer model for the San Marcos River with both the City sewer plant and the Fish Hatchery discharges included.

Texas Parks & Wildlife unfortunately then decided to drop out of the Bed & Banks hearing because this would create a "conflict" in the hearing process. The Fish Hatchery's permit will now go to a hearing, and be hammered out in this court-like setting. SMRF pointed out that the pollutant restrictions have to be a part of the permit since this is the only way that citizens can monitor the discharge. Offers by TP&W staff to try to improve the pollutant levels are not enough, since staff members can change often. The construction of filters to start the clean up of the Fish Hatchery discharge will begin in'99, hopefully even before the hearing begins. This is an improvement from the original stance of TP&W in early meetings with SMRF, when they did not think their discharge was a problem. So SMRF feels that the two years of studies, meetings, and pressure has begun to show results even before the hearing begins in early spring.

NUTS & BOLTS AND OTHER MEETINGS, PLEASE FEEL WELCOME

Remember that SMRF meets at 6 p.m. every month on the third Tuesday. Since the flood damaged the Rio Vista Rock Cottage meeting room, SMRF is using the Old Fish Hatchery building behind the Chamber on C. M. Allen. Look for a note on that door if the meeting is moved for any reason, and watch the newspaper Community Calendar for updates, since the Board will set dates and times at the beginning of '99, when new board members are elected. All those who are interested in protecting the River are very welcome to attend. For information, call 512-393-3787.

BIRDING HOT LINE, WEBSITE, AND RINGED KINGFISHER ALERT

Fall brings excellent birding to San Marcos, so keep your eyes open and walk along the River as often as you can. Remember to dial 396-BIRD each month to hear Dick Henderson's notes on birding in San Marcos. The message is updated at the beginning of every month. Check out the birding website for San Marcos out at http: //www.centuryinter.net/birding if you want to find some new places to look for birds. Webmaster Cathy Supple will begin an update after the holidays.

If you are out with your binoculars, or just walking along the river, PLEASE be looking for the elusive Ringed Kingfisher that SMRF is seeking. A confirmed sighting is needed, so if you see an extra-large kingfisher with lots of rust or cinnamon on the breast, please call Dick Henderson or any expert birders you know to come out and try to confirm your sighting. If we can say with confidence that we have all three kingfishers in this area, it will be a a big deal for birdwatchers all over the U.S., and we will encourage a very good kind of tourism on our River, that has great economic value. This, in turn, will help people understand why a buffer zone, or wild area of vegetation needs to be preserved on the River's banks, and can give economic return for preservation of that habitat.

Karim Azziz and a fellow water hyacinth harvester found that a spare boat was needed for the mass of plants they removed from the slough during the Wetlands Project exotic plant cleanup.

An example of a Ringed Kingfisher, from the National Wildlife Federation. Support them and get these stamps!

[back to top]