San Marcos River Foundation Newsletter - Vol. 8, No. 3
Printed Quarterly on Recycled Paper - July 1, 1998

QUARTERLY BOARD MEETING COMING UP

Tuesday, July 21, 1998, 6 p.m., Rio Vista Rock Cottage by City Pool
Agenda:

Financial Report
Status of two City permits for river water withdrawal
Status of State Fish Hatchery discharge permit
Moratorium on new water rights
Projects needing volunteers

PRESIDENT'S COMMENTS

Since I wake up every morning hoping it will RAIN, I will begin by hoping that we have had some since this article was written on 6/29. If not, then we will all have to redouble our commitment to conserve water more than we ever have before, in order to make sure that the San Marcos River and all the creatures, including man, that depend on it can indeed survive this drought. We certainly don't want the end of this ecosystem to occur on our watch, do we? Especially since this river has flowed without interruption for as long as anyone can determine.

Speaking of our unique river ecosystem, would you like to help with the wild rice measuring survey that will go on during the week of July 6? If so, call Jackie Poole of Texas Parks & Wildlife at 512-912-7019 to volunteer, and tell her you are a River Foundation supporter. Plan to wear shoes that will protect your feet, and lots of sunblock, a hat, and possibly a long shirt over your swimsuit to keep from getting sunburned while you wade and use measuring tapes and sticks to measure the many stands of wild rice all along the river from its headwaters to the City sewer plant on the edge of town. Since this was such a great year for the wild rice, with seedheads made in quantity for the first time in anyone's memory, it will be an interesting year to be part of the survey. (See photo, page 6) And what cool volunteer work! This is a daytime commitment of 4-6 hours, starting in the morning. Take along your own water bottle and snacks, and help onshore if you are not interested in wading. No experience required, just the willingness to give a day. Jackie will tell you where to meet.

Hot summers and low river flow levels tend to draw attention to the problems along the San Marcos River, and this summer has been worse than usual. A nonstop stream of phone calls has come regarding water pumping, dumping, and construction damage. I hope this is just a sign of everyone being out to enjoy the river, thus seeing the problems that need reporting, and not a sign that the pressures to use up and pollute the river are intensifying. But do keep your eyes open and be a river guardian!

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TREE PLANTING AT AQUARENA

As part of the restoration of the wetlands at the slough at Aquarena, the River Foundation gathered to plant several cypress trees along the slough, where their roots will be damp enough to survive this dry summer. Photo at right is of Paula Power of SWT's Aquatic Biology program, marking the spot for planting. A grant from the Meadows Foundation has been received by SWT to begin building the boardwalk and kiosks around the wetlands area, and the River Foundation hopes to soon be able to contribute its promised $1000 donation to the wetlands project as well.

GREENHOUSE INTERPRETIVE CENTER COMPLETED SOON

The lovely historic Governor's Greenhouse donated to the City of San Marcos by Texas Parks & Wildlife (through the efforts of the River Foundation) will soon be completely outfitted as an interpretive center. Plans are being worked on for the City by architect Jeff Kester. San Marcos River and historical exhibits will be featured, and there will be volunteer opportunities galore for River Foundation members and anyone else who likes to work on such worthy projects. The metal framework needs sanding and wirebrushing before it is painted, to begin with. Later in the fall, landscaping will be another way the River Foundation can help. What a unique and attention-getting stop for Interstate drivers this wonderful building will be, as well as an educational center for area schoolchildren. Call 512-393-3787 to volunteer. Early morning or late evening work hours will be scheduled to avoid the heat.

JULY 4 RIVER PARADE AT SUMMERFEST

The big $500 grand prize for the lighted river parade during Summerfest will probably bring out a great many entries, so the River Foundation will try to help the Lions Club instruct the entrants about avoiding the wild rice at Sewell Park. Since this was such a good year for the rice seedheads, it would be a shame to mash them all down with the boats entering the water at that spot. Sally the 16' Texas Blind Salamander is not going to enter this year, since the strong backs that have lifted her into the water for years are getting tired, and she needs some painting and gluework. If anyone wants to work on her so that she can be displayed in the aquifer scene on the stage at Aquarena, please call 512-393-3787, and materials will be supplied. No skills required, since the work is mostly applying a rubbery paint coat.

GREENBELT ALLIANCE FORMS IN SAN MARCOS

A group is forming to assess and protect the undeveloped greenbelts in San Marcos. The need for such a group has been demonstrated by the recent attempts to develop Schulle Canyon and the Dead Man's Hole property on Prospect Street. There are also pieces of land on Sink Creek and Sessoms Creek that are valuable green open spaces that the Greenbelt Alliance wants to protect. Walks on these various properties are being led by organizer Christine North. For more information, call her voice mail at 392-3932 and leave your name and number, since she will be on vacation for part of July. The August walk will be on Sink Creek.
The first walk was held at the end of June, on the bowl-shaped property off Prospect Street that has the Dead Man's Hole in the center of it, draining down to the aquifer. The River Foundation has given the Greenbelt Alliance $300 as seed money to help with the costs of organizing and incorporating the group as a non-profit. The National Parks Service has offered assistance, and Chris hopes to try for grants to help purchase some of the environmentally valuable green space. It is an idea whose time has definitely come, and a great way for citizens to band together to preserve some semblance of the small town quality of life in San Marcos.

WATER SAFARI EXCITEMENT

The annual canoe race from the headwaters of the San Marcos River all the way to the coast was a bigger-than-ever excuse to gather along the banks of the river this year. 70 teams entered, TV stations from Austin shot footage, and crowds of spectators cheered the paddlers on from the banks, following the racers downriver for miles. Everything from 6-man boats to single kayakers, and many variations in between, paddled nonstop for days to reach the coast, in pretty low flow conditions this year, making the trip a little longer and harder. The record heat also took its toll, and the bay was the roughest anyone remembers, but 37 teams did finish.
This year, Harold Perkins and his family, who own the old gin at Cottonseed Rapids in Martindale, decided to open up their riverside property to spectators of the Safari, and placed a donation jar for the River Foundation at the entrance gate. They also sold refreshments to the people who streamed into their property and watched the exciting race through the perilous rapids. When all was totalled up, the Perkins family made over $300 for the River Foundation, having donated the refreshment supplies themselves. They did it, Harold said, because they appreciate all the work the Foundation does to try to clean up the river and keep it flowing. A big thank you goes to Harold Perkins of Perkins Construction, and all his family members who worked hard on a very hot day on this benefit. Their generosity in sharing their excellent river view was a very hospitable thing to do.

RIVER FLOW LEVELS

On June 29, the river was flowing in San Marcos at 120 cubic feet per second (cfs). This compares to 218 cfs, the flow on March 29. During the drought of 1996, the flow dropped to 76 cfs. Let's hope it doesn't get that low this year! Conserve every drop of water you can by flushing less and watering lawns less often.

FISH HATCHERY HEARING STILL HANGING

Jack Fairchild, Tom Wassenich, and the Foundation's attorneys are continuing to study the information received during the first round of discovery (legal language for official answers to formal written questions) from the TNRCC (Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission, who issues permits for discharges into the river) and TP&WD (Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, who runs the fish hatchery). A new schedule for the hearing on the fish hatchery's discharge permit has been set, with the public hearing being delayed until mid-September or later unless a settlement is reached. TP&WD has also begun to discuss building a sand and anthracite filter for their wastewater, and possibly reusing some of their pond water. Nothing is decided yet, but the Foundation is confident that TP&WD will want to do the right thing for the river when they understand all of the data being gathered.

Fairchild corrected some errors in the TNRCC's computer stream model for the fish hatchery discharge, re-ran the stream model, and found that the discharge would violate the TNRCC stream standards for the San Marcos River at Cummings Dam. The model showed that even if the discharge was improved above the TNRCC draft permit, the stream standard could be met only with HALF the discharge requested by the TP&WD. Now TNRCC is re-running the model with these corrections, and the River Foundation has also engaged an independent engineering consultant to run the model as well, to confirm the findings. This engineer has found some additional corrections that need to be done.

Dr. Fairchild was recently asked to speak at a stream model seminar held at the Edwards Aquifer Research Center at SWT, to detail the kinds of errors the River Foundation looks for in the models used by the State for permits. This correction in the stream model was the same way that the Foundation brought about the vast improvement in the City wastewater discharge permit. This workshop brings to light the value of the work the Foundation is doing to correct bad discharge permits being allowed by the State simply because of errors or a lack of detailed information about the rivers in question. Stay tuned for developments on the fish hatchery hearing by reading the local paper, or checking out the HOT NEWS button on the River Foundation's website at http://www.sanmarcosriver.org.

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LEGAL DOCUMENTS AT THE PUBLIC LIBRARY

All of the legal documents coming out of the two SMRF Public Hearing actions are available for study at the San Marcos Public Library. Ask for the "SMRF Public Hearing Documents Notebook" at the Information Desk. The notebook is in the Historical Collection of documents in locked file cabinets that they will open. These are updated whenever a new set of documents come out. All of the arguments on both sides of the "Bed and Banks" issue and the A.E. Wood State Fish Hatchery Discharge Permit, as well as past District Court cases about the Bed and Banks hearing are there. There is no better way to see history in the making, or to understand the very complex arguments in the cases, than to read it as it unfolds. Reading the briefs from each party is like seeing a heated battle in slow motion, and not everyone will find it interesting. But to those who realize that the future of the San Marcos River depends on these decisions, it is life-or-death drama.

CANOE TRIP AND PICNIC HOSTED BY RIVER FOUNDATION

Pictured on Cummings Dam is the Texas Rivers Conservation Board after their canoe trip and picnic on the San Marcos River. Board members from all over Texas were in town for a meeting at Aquarena Center, where plans for the educational center to be built there by Texas Parks & Wildlife were discussed. Also attending were the editor and staff of TP&WD Magazine. Canoes were provided by River Foundation members, the van shuttle was provided by Evelyn TeGrotenhuis of TG Canoes, and the beautiful picnic site by Jackie and Rufus Alexander. Thanks to all.

SWT DIGS FOR WATER

The huge excavation at the corner of University and Sessoms is being done to install the pipeline from Spring Lake to the cooling towers of SWT. The big hole is to allow the boring under the street, and many cypress tree roots are being ripped up. The small sediment fences surrounding the project are dwarfed by the piles of dirt, and river defenders are hoping that any rainfall that comes during this construction project will be slow and steady so that a disastrous mudslide does not occur. That part of the river is more densely populated with endangered species than any other section of the river, and great damage could occur in a heavy thunderstorm.

The River Foundation told SWT officials of their concern for the river during the planning stages of this pumping project, but to no avail. Because the University bought senior water rights with the purchase of Aquarena Springs, there are not strong legal grounds to stop this use of the water. If the river flows continue to drop this summer, there will be a point at which Fish & Wildlife will have to step in to temporarily restrain this use, but when flows are high enough, SWT will be able to use river water to evaporate in its cooling towers. This is, of course, a very short term and short-sighted solution to SWT's dependency on the aquifer.

AQUIFER NEWS

Both the aquifer and the river are in danger from over-pumping in this dry weather, and just recently Fish & Wildlife alerted the Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA) to the impending disaster, asking them to enforce more rigorous pumping limits to protect the Comal and San Marcos Springs, and the endangered species in those rivers. The Comal Springs have already dropped below the 200 cfs level at which some species will die. Since many of the board members of EAA are from Medina and Uvalde Counties, and San Antonio, EAA does not seem to be able to agree on serious conservation measures. Everyone is just counting on rainfall from a tropical storm to save the day, once again. Perhaps this drought will make people realize that the time has come to reuse wastewater for industrial and irrigation uses.

Meanwhile, Stage 2 water rationing has begun, and lawn watering is being done during the night, once a week. Even Austin is stretching the limits of the water treatment plants that they have, and asking residents and businesses to conserve.

The J-17 Index well in the aquifer stands at 640.8, and can drop a foot or more per day in the summer. Some of the endangered species will begin to die off when the San Marcos Spring level drops below 100 cfs, and it is already at 120 cfs on June 29.

HYDROLAB IN OPERATION

Dr. Jack Fairchild, with the help of Dr. Al Groeger, has begun to monitor the river's water quality with the hydrolab bought with grant money. The laptop computer that the information from the hydrolab is fed into was also bought with grants. This self-contained lab is locked up in hidden places along the river and allows the River Foundation to monitor 14 water quality parameters around the clock for two weeks at a time. This kind of data is invaluable as hearing evidence, and also to pinpoint exactly where problems are occurring. It will never replace the human work that the River Rangers do, testing the river from San Marcos to Fentress and making visual observations that are also sorely needed, but it is good for specific problems. If you wish to help the River Rangers, call River Foundation Board member Deborah Lane at 392-3095, to discuss being trained to do the testing.

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LIONS CLUB COMES THROUGH ONCE AGAIN

The San Marcos Lions have given a big donation of $650 to the River Foundation again this year, bringing their total in the past 13 years to over $13,000. A huge thank you is in order for their continued support of the Foundation's work. Part of this money will be used to replace the parks and river map in the kiosk near the Tube Rental, which faded from the western exposure. Signcrafters is working on this now, using a new fade-resistant paper, like the one used on the rest of the kiosk panels. Thanks to the City Parks & Rec Department and Jose Gill Engineering for providing the computer disk with the map on it for the Foundation's use.

AQUARENA CENTER NEWS

Aquarena Center has been packed with students and visitors this summer. A new Educational Coordinator, Margaret Russell, has been hired to help the General Manager Ron Coley, and they are reaching thousands of people with their programs about wetlands, birds, endangered species, aquifers, etc. The gift shop is a great place to pick up nature-oriented gifts, and admission is free to the park, the aquariums and exhibits. The glass bottom boats run all day and there are many eco-tours, for a nominal ticket price. The River Foundation has recently purchased some aquifer maps for distribution at Aquarena, and also hosted a coffeebreak bar in April for a wetlands educational workshop held there for teachers.

The plan to have the center become Texas Parks & Wildlife's Texas Rivers Center is still cooking. A benefit was held in April to raise money for the project. As far as the public knows, the deal has not yet been signed between SWT and TP&WD regarding the use of this land around Spring Lake, and so specific plans are not yet available.

BED & BANKS PERMIT HEARING STILL UNSCHEDULED

This permit hearing, in which the City is applying for a permit to withdraw the same amount of river water as their discharge pours from their wastewater plant into the river, has become so complicated that it is hard to explain in a short article. The most recent scheduled event, a "certified question" ruling, is on July 1, the day this newsletter is being mailed, so the outcome of that TNRCC Commissioner's meeting and ruling will have to be found in the local newspaper. Their coverage has been excellent lately, rather than just printing the City's press releases.

This attempt to exchange the sewer plant discharge for drinking water two miles downstream of the discharge is clearly a way for the City to get their water diluted before withdrawing it. This is called "polishing" and is banned by Texas law, but the City continues to try to distort every law on the books in order to implement this unprecedented concept, spending hundreds of thousands on attorneys' fees. The revenue available if the City sold their wastewater for other uses, like cooling towers and other industrial uses, or golf course and athletic field irrigation, is ignored.

Rather than taking the space here for a long and intricate explanation of the legal maneuvers over the past three years, it is recommended that interested parties just take a look at the documents on file at the Public Library in the Historical Collection file cabinets. Ask at the information desk for the River Foundation's notebook of hearing documents, and read both sides' views.

This Bed & Banks permit is only the smaller of two water withdrawal permits that the City is applying for. The total water volume they are asking for amounts to two thirds of the river in dry periods like the summer of '96, and half of the flow in current conditions. Not a small amount of water by any means.

JUST SAY NO TO NEW WATER RIGHT PERMITS

The River Foundation believes that the San Marcos River and the Guadalupe River that it joins with to flow to the coast,are as much as three times over-appropriated already. Only 30% of the existing rights were used during the 1996 drought, according to GBRA, and the Aransas Wildlife Refuge biologists report that fresh water was not reaching the bays for ten months in '96, causing salinity to get dangerously high. Texas Parks and Wildlife officials are aware that the overpumping of the aquifer means that salinity is high enough, often enough lately, to interfere with reproduction and survival of many species in the coastal ecosystem. Meanwhile, the TNRCC continues to grant water rights even though they know the computer model they are using is extremely outdated, and the new one will not be ready until mid-'99.

The Board of the Foundation voted to ask for a moratorium on water right granting until the new computer model is ready, but SMRF attorneys advised not to approach the TNRCC with that request since the Bed & Banks permit is before the Commissioners. So the Board will discuss other ways to accomplish this moratorium at the July board meeting. Everyone in these State departments seem to realize that the river is over-appropriated if asked point-blank, but no one is willing to step forward and order the process stopped until a proper assessment is done.

Also check out the birdwatecher's website sponsored by SMRF at http://www.centuryinter.net/birding and call the birding hotline at 396-BIRD for monthly updates on the birds that can be seen in the San Marcos area.

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