Program will focus on Dry Comal Creek and Comal River watersheds
Contacts: Troy Luepke, 830-620-3440, troy.luepke@ag.tamu.edu
Mark Enders, 830-221-4639, menders@nbtexas.org
Michael Kuitu, 979-862-4457, mkuitu@tamu.edu
NEW BRAUNFELS – A Texas Watershed Steward water quality workshop related to the Dry Comal Creek and Comal River watersheds will be held from 8 a.m.-noon Feb. 7 at the New Braunfels City Hall, 550 Landa St. in New Braunfels.
The workshop is presented by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board in cooperation with the City of New Braunfels.
“This workshop is designed to help watershed residents improve and protect their water resources by becoming involved in the Dry Comal Creek and Comal River watershed protection and management activities,” said Michael Kuitu, AgriLife Extension program specialist and coordinator for the Texas Watershed Steward program, College Station.
Kuitu said the workshop is free and open to anyone interested in protecting water quality in the region. Participants are encouraged to preregister at the Texas Watershed Steward website at http://tws.tamu.edu.
The program will include a discussion of watershed systems, types and sources of water pollution, and ways to improve and protect water quality. There also will be a group discussion on community-driven watershed protection and management.
“The workshop will include an overview of water quality and watershed management in Texas, but will focus primarily on local water quality initiatives, including current efforts to help improve and protect the Dry Comal and its downstream reaches,” said Troy Luepke, AgriLife Extension agent for Comal County. “The workshop will address local water resources but will be applicable to all waters in the region.”
Dry Comal Creek and the Comal River play a vital role in regards to recreation, regional economy and endangered species habitat, said Mark Enders, watershed coordinator for the City of New Braunfels.
“It is truly an important water resource,” Enders said.
He said the City of New Braunfels and AgriLife Extension encourage local residents and other stakeholders to attend the workshop to gain information about water resources, water quality improvement and protection.
Attendees will receive a copy of the Texas Watershed Steward Handbook and a certificate of completion.
The Texas Watershed Steward program offers four continuing education units in soil and water management for certified crop advisers, four units for professional engineers and certified planners, four credits for certified teachers and two credits for nutrient management specialists. A total of four professional development hours are available for professional geoscientists.
Additionally, three general continuing education units are offered for Texas Department of Agriculture pesticide license holders, four for certified landscape architects and three for certified floodplain managers. Four continuing education credits are offered for each of the following Texas Commission on Environmental Quality occupational licensees: wastewater system operators, public water system operators, on-site sewage facility installers and landscape irrigators.
“Participating in the Texas Watershed Steward program is a great opportunity to get involved and make a difference in your watershed,” Luepke said.
The Texas Watershed Steward program is funded through a Clean Water Act nonpoint source grant from the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
For more information on the Texas Watershed Steward program, go to http://tws.tamu.edu or contact Kuitu at 979-862-4457, mkuitu@tamu.edu; or Luepke at 830-620-3440, troy.luepke@ag.tamu.edu.
For information on the Dry Comal Creek and Comal River Watershed Protection Plan, go to http://www.nbtexas.org/WPP or contact Enders at 830-221-4639, menders@nbtexas.org.
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