River Ranger
Quarterly Report

Quarterly Report of Water Quality Monitoring
2025

(updated June 05, 2025)

The purpose of this page is to provide SMRF Staff & Board with relevant information regarding the state of water quality within the San Marcos River; specifically in regard to SMRF’s volunteer based River Ranger water quality monitoring program.
Similar to the monthly Treasurer Report, goal is to provide a way for SMRF Staff & Board to understand the development of this program throughout the year.

The goal will be to provide these reports quarterly throughout the year:

  • Spring Quarter (Jan. 1 - Mar. 31):
    This report will be provided virtually for Staff & Board to reference at their leisure.

  • Summer Quarter (Apr. 01 - Jun. 30):
    This report will be provided virtually & presented at the SMRF Board meeting in June.

  • Fall Quarter (Jul. 01 - Sep. 30):
    This report will be provided virtually for Staff & Board to reference at their leisure.

  • Winter Quarter (Oct. 01 - Dec. 31):
    This report will be provided virtually & presented at the SMRF Board meeting in December.

-Adam Berglund

Specific Information

(Current) Winter Quarter

Updated Oct. 09, 2025

Main Comments:

  • TBD

Budget: (TODO)

  • $0 Used of $3,534.23 Remainder of Program Budget

  • $0.0 Used of $6,500.00 Remainder of Staff Salary

Funding: (TODO)

  • No new funding yet this quarter.

Trained: (TODO)

  • Trainings: 0 Total Participants, from 0 Complete of 6 Planned

    • Standard Core: 0 [3]

    • Riparian Evaluation: 0 [1]

    • Advanced: 0 [1]

    • Bacteria: 0 [0]

    • Optical Brightener: 0 [1]

    • Trainer-in-Training: 0

Monitors: (TODO)

  • Active: ?

    • New: +?

    • Onboarding: ?

    • Active Wait-list: ?

  • Retired: ?

Sites Monitored: (TODO)

  • Totals: 27 of 36 Overall Sites

    • SM River Upstream: 14 of 18 [generally fortnightly, at least monthly]

    • SM River Downstream: 8 of 11 [at least once-monthly]

    • Blanco: 2 of 4 [once-monthly]

    • Guadalupe: 3 of 3 [once-monthly]

Monitoring Events:

  • ~?? Current Monitoring Events Conducted

    • ~? - Standard Core

    • ~? - Advanced

    • ~? - E. coli Bacteria

    • ~? - Optical Brightener

    • ~? - Riparian

Notable Info: (TODO)

  • ???

Fall Quarter

Main Comments:

  • Current efforts are on bringing more volunteers on to our program to bolster our monitoring goals.

  • Supplies will need to be re-ordered soon in order to re-supply us for the next year.

  • A focus will be made on getting Standard monitoring volunteers on sites, then expanding to other monitoring types.

Budget:

  • $0 Used of $3,534.23 Remainder of Program Budget

  • $6,500.0 Used of $13,000.00 Remainder of Staff Salary

Funding:

  • No new funding yet this quarter.

  • Texas Stream Team equipment grant for Bacteria testing supplies will finish October 2025.

Trained:

  • Trainings: 81 Total Participants, from 6 Complete of 6 Planned

    • Standard Core: 53 [3]

    • Riparian Evaluation: 22 [2]

    • Advanced: 0 [0]

    • Bacteria: 5 [1]

    • Optical Brightener: 0 [0]

    • Trainer-in-Training: 1

Monitors: (TODO)

  • Active: 52

    • New: +8

    • Onboarding: 3

    • Active Wait-list: 7

  • Retired: -1

Sites Monitored: (TODO)

  • Totals: 27 of 36 Overall Sites

    • SM River Upstream: 14 of 18 [generally fortnightly, at least monthly]

    • SM River Downstream: 8 of 11 [at least once-monthly]

    • Blanco: 2 of 4 [once-monthly]

    • Guadalupe: 3 of 3 [once-monthly]

Monitoring Events:

  • ~411 Current Monitoring Events Conducted

    • ~322 - Standard Core

    • ~10 - Advanced

    • ~68 - E. coli Bacteria

    • ~10 - Optical Brightener

    • ~1 - Riparian

Notable Info: (TODO)

  • Massive Onboarding Initiative started to replenish lost monitors & catch up on wait-list.

  • Begun National-level IDEXX surface water monitoring study collaboration.

Summer Quarter

Main Comments:

  • Current efforts are on bringing more volunteers on to our program to bolster our monitoring goals.

  • Supplies will need to be re-ordered soon in order to re-supply us for the next year.

  • A focus will be made on getting Standard monitoring volunteers on sites, then expanding to other monitoring types.

Budget:

  • $214.92 Used of $3,749.15 Remainder of Program Budget

  • $6,500.00 Used of $19,500.00 Remainder of Staff Salary

Funding:

  • +$2,000.00: Lion’s Club Grant (direct-donation) [2025-APR-18]

Trained:

  • Trainings: 70 Total Participants, from 6 Complete of 6 Planned

    • Standard Core: 43 [3]

    • Riparian Evaluation: 16 [1]

    • Advanced: 0 [0]

    • Bacteria: 5 [1]

    • Optical Brightener: 6 [1]

    • Trainer-in-Training: 0

Monitors:

  • Active: 45

    • New: +4

    • Onboarding: 10

    • Active Wait-list: 15

  • Retired: -1

Sites Monitored:

  • Totals: 27 of 36 Overall Sites

    • SM River Upstream: 14 of 18 [generally fortnightly, at least monthly]

    • SM River Downstream: 8 of 11 [at least once-monthly]

    • Blanco: 2 of 4 [once-monthly]

    • Guadalupe: 3 of 3 [once-monthly]

Monitoring Events:

  • ~200 Current Monitoring Events Conducted

    • ~160 - Standard Core

    • 39 - E. coli Bacteria

Notable Info:

  • Massive Onboarding Initiative started to replenish lost monitors & catch up on wait-list.

Spring Quarter

Main Comments:

  • Massive efforts were made to update our volunteer onboarding process.

  • Significant efforts were made to revamp our volunteer roster & information tracking.

  • This is our lowest volunteer participation for the last ~12 months, with a goal of increasing participation next quarter.

  • Basic monitoring has covered a majority of our sites.

  • We are participating in a Statewide scientific pilot project to compare different E. coli Bacteria methodologies.

Budget:

  • $1,250.85 Used of $5,000.00 Remainder of Program Budget

  • $6,500.00 Used of $26,000.00 Remainder of Staff Salary

Funding:

  • $1,000.00 valued equipment grant from Texas Stream Team []

Trained:

  • Trainings: 63 Total Participants, from 6 Complete of 6 Planned

    • Standard Core: 40 [3]

    • Riparian Evaluation: 16 [2]

    • Advanced: 6 [1]

    • Bacteria: 0 [0]

    • Optical Brightener: 0 [0]

    • Trainer-in-Training: 1

Monitors:

  • Active: 38

    • New: +0

    • Onboarding: 0

  • Retired: -1

Sites Monitored:

  • Totals: 27 of 36 Overall Sites

    • SM River Upstream: 14 of 18 [generally fortnightly, at least monthly]

    • SM River Downstream: 8 of 11 [at least once-monthly]

    • Blanco: 2 of 4 [once-monthly]

    • Guadalupe: 3 of 3 [once-monthly]

Notable Info:

  • Completed River Ranger Onboarding Process & Webpages

  • Completed Google Earth monitoring site project, sorted & uploading site history pictures

Year to Date

Updated Oct. 09, 2025

Main Comments:

  • This is a year of re-building the program & bringing on many new volunteers in order to re-establish our standards.

Budget:

  • $1,465.77 Used of $5,000.00 Total Program Budget

  • $19,500.00 Used of $26,000.00 Total Staff Salary

Funding:

  • +$2,000.00: Lion’s Club Grant (direct monetary donation) [2025-APR-18]

  • $1,000.00 valued supply grant from Texas Stream Team (direct item donation) []

  • Texas Stream Team equipment grant for Bacteria testing supplies will finish October 2025.

Trained:

  • Trainings: 214 Total Participants, from 10 Complete of 24 Planned

    • Standard Core: 136 [9 Done of 12 Planned]

    • Riparian Evaluation: 54 [5 Done of 6 Planned]

    • Advanced: 6 [1 Done of 2 Planned]

    • Bacteria: 10 [2 Done of 2 Planned]

    • Optical Brightener: 6 [1 Done of 2 Planned]

    • Trainer-in-Training: 2

Monitors:

  • Active: 45

  • New: +4

  • Retired: -2

Sites Monitored:

  • Totals: 27 of 36 Overall Sites

    • SM River Upstream: 14 of 18 [generally fortnightly, at least monthly]

    • SM River Downstream: 8 of 11 [at least once-monthly]

    • Blanco: 2 of 4 [once-monthly]

    • Guadalupe: 3 of 3 [once-monthly]

Monitoring Events:

  • ~509 Current Monitoring Events Conducted

    • ~419 - Standard Core

    • ~10 - Advanced

    • ~68 - E. coli Bacteria

    • ~10 - Optical Brightener

    • ~2 - Riparian

Notable Info:

  • Completed River Ranger Onboarding Process & Webpages

  • Completed Google Earth monitoring site project, sorted & uploading site history pictures

  • Massive Onboarding Initiative started to replenish lost monitors & catch up on wait-list.

  • Begun National-level IDEXX surface water monitoring study collaboration.

Yearly History

Previous Year Public Report

TODO: continue to work through & update yearly history [2025-APR-21, AB]

  • Current Year; summary data will be added as it is accrued.

    Budget YTD

    • Proposed: $2,000.00 (no change from previous year)

    • Amended:

    • Utilized: $1,250.85

  • Significant equipment & supply distributor issues occurred this year to cause

    Budget

    • Proposed: $2,000.00 ($1,000 decrease from previous year)

    • Amended: $1,000.00 ($1,000 decrease within the year)

    • Utilized: $1,478.60 ($478.60 over)

  • Budget

    • Proposed: $3,000.00 (no change from previous year)

    • Amended: $0.00 ($3,000 decrease within the year)

    • Utilized: $493.39 ($493.39 over)

  • Budget

    • Proposed: $3,000.00 ($500 increase from previous year)

    • Amended: - same -

    • Utilized: $2,170.78 ($829.22 under)

  • Budget

    • Proposed: $2,500.00 ($1,956.00 increase from previous year)

    • Amended: - same -

    • Utilized: $2,995.26 ($495.26 over)

  • -- Limited data records exist for 2020 & prior --

    Budget

    • Proposed: $200.00

    • Amended: $544.00

    • Utilized: $651.20

General Information

Water Quality Monitoring

Community Science

  • Standard Core monitoring is what all of our current volunteers use; is how they all participate on a monthly basis and an entry for them to participate in more advanced monitoring later.

    Standard Core monitoring is useful because it allows us to perform a basic “health checkup” (kind of like a physical with your doctor) to understand the trends of how a site changes over time.

    The parameters collected include:

    • Photos & Comments

    • Field Observations

    • Temperature (Air & Water) [°C]

    • Depth [meters]

    • Transparency [meters]

    • Dissolved Oxygen (D.O.) [mg/L]

    • Conductivity (TDS) [μS/cm]

    • pH [standard units]

  • Riparian Evaluation is a supplemental monitoring option that some of our monitors perform on an annual or semi-annual basis.

    Biomonitors assess the health of lake, river, stream or estuaries based on the riparian habitat. Data is coupled with water quality data and used to track ecosystem and habitat health over time in the rivers and streams that flow to the Texas Coast.

    A riparian area is the interface between land and a water body. When a riparian area is healthy and functioning properly it filters and slows run-off and floodwaters, and allows for sediment trapping, water storage and groundwater infiltration. The water quality benefits of a healthy riparian area are well documented.

    It is important to collect data on riparian areas because the indicators of riparian function can lead to the identification of activities that may be hindering the natural riparian recovery process.

    The riparian indicators evaluated are:

    • Photos & Comments

    • Field Observations

    1. Active Floodplain

    2. Energy Dissipation

    3. New Plant Colonization

    4. Stabilizing Vegetation

    5. Age Diversity

    6. Species Diversity

    7. Plant Vigor

    8. Water Storage

    9. Bank/Channel Erosion

    10. Sediment Deposition

  • Advanced is a complimentary monitoring option that some of our monitors perform on an annual or semi-annual basis.

    Advanced monitoring is useful because it specifically targets non-point source pollutants that may be entering a waterway and how quickly that stream can deal with the pollutants entering it.

    The parameters collected include:

    • Photos & Comments

    • Field Observations

    • Nitrate-Nitrogen [mg/L]

    • Phosphate [mg/L]

    • Turbidity [NTU]

    • Streamflow [CFS]

  • Bacteria is a complimentary monitoring option that a few of our monitors perform during our busy recreation season along the river.

    E.coli bacteria is measured to determine the relative risk of swimming (contact recreation) in a water body. E. coli is a bacteria that originates from the wastes of warm-blooded animals, and the presence of this bacteria indicates that associated pathogens from waste may be reaching a body of water. Sources of E. coli include inadequately treated sewage, improperly managed animal waste from livestock, pets, aquatic birds and mammals, or failing septic systems.

    The parameters collected include:

    • Photos & Comments

    • Field Observations

    • Bacteria Colony Count [CFU/100 mL]

  • Optical Brightener is a supplemental monitoring option that currently none of our monitors perform due to how recently it has been released.

    Optical brightener monitoring involves testing for synthetic compounds commonly used in laundry detergents and other cleaning products. These compounds make fabrics appear brighter by absorbing UV light and re-emitting it as visible blue light. The presence of optical brighteners in a water body may indicate that untreated wastewater is entering the water, as these anthropogenic compounds are not naturally occurring in the environment. Potential sources include septic system leaks, sewage overflows, and lower treatment wastewater treatment systems. Monitoring optical brighteners helps identify bacteria sources and should be conducted at the same sampling time and location as bacteria monitoring.

    The parameters collected include:

    • Photos & Comments

    • Field Observations

    • Presence or Absence of Optical Brightener

Professional Science

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Texas Stream Team

  • Texas Stream Team is a wide-spanning community science initiative that allows the San Marcos River Foundation to contribute data back towards the larger project of understanding all of the waterways within the State of Texas.

    Additionally Texas Stream Team began close to the same time as when SMRF was founded, so with both being local to the San Marcos area it was natural that we began to collaborate of monitoring our local waterways.

  • Texas Stream Team is dedicated to understanding and protecting the 191,000 miles of Texas waterways.

    Texas Stream Team is a statewide community science water quality monitoring program that has been operating since 1991; it is a network of trained community scientists and supportive partners administered through a cooperative partnership between:

    Through Texas Stream Team, community scientists are trained to collect and submit surface water and environmental quality data that can then be used to promote and protect the 191,000 miles of Texas waterways. Texas Stream Team brings together community members, students, educators, academic researchers, environmental professionals, and both public and private sector partners to conduct scientific research and promote environmental stewardship.

  • Because Texas Stream Team handles all of the high-level administrative workload of:

    • Research

    • Administration

    • Monitoring Procedures

    • Equipment & Supplies

    • Quality Control

    • Data Collection

    • Partner Support

    This allows the San Marcos River Foundation to utilize these standardized resourced to ease the burden on our staff & volunteers.

  • Not really!

    Even though we do spend some time to contribute to the Texas Stream Team project, we actually benefit quite a bit from the support that Texas Stream Team provides us.

  • In some capacity SMRF will likely always utilize Texas Stream Team in some capacity for our local monitoring efforts, simply due to how helpful they are to us.

    However, we may perform monitoring outside of or not always contribute data back to Texas Stream Team; this would generally be “hot-spot” style monitoring that does not align with their standards but if useful to our organization in a local capacity.