ARLINGTON – A Texas Watershed Steward workshop on water quality and water management related to the Village Creek-Lake Arlington watershed will be held from 1-5 p.m. March 10 at the Trinity River Authority of Texas General Office, 5300 S. Collins St. in Arlington.
Doors will open at noon for networking and a free lunch for attendees who preregister by March 8.
A Texas Watershed Steward workshop is slated for March 10 in Arlington at the Trinity River Authority of Texas General Office , located at 5300 S. Collins St. (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo)
The workshop will be presented by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board in cooperation with the Trinity River Authority.
“The training is free and open to anyone interested in improving water quality in the region,” said Aaron Hoff, watershed coordinator for the project. Participants are asked to preregister at the Texas Watershed Steward website at http://tws.tamu.edu.
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, said Michael Kuitu, AgriLife Extension program specialist, College Station, coordinator for the Texas Watershed Steward program.
Kuitu said training will include an overview of water quality and watershed management in Texas, but will primarily focus on local water quality issues, including current and future efforts to help improve and protect local watersheds.
Fred M. Hall, AgriLife Extension agent for Tarrant County, said the workshop will include discussion of watershed systems and types and sources of water pollution.
“Primarily we’ll address ways to improve and protect water quality and the need for community-driven action to ensure adequate watershed protection and management,” Hall said.
Attendees will receive a copy of the Texas Watershed Steward Handbook and a certificate of completion. The 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 licensed by the Texas Board of Professional Geoscientists.
There are also three general continuing education units 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.
Kuitu said he wants to encourage local residents and other stakeholders to attend the workshop to become better informed about area water resources and how to protect and improve their water quality.
For more information, go to the website or contact Kuitu at 979-862-4457, mkuitu@tamu.edu; Hall at 817-884-1946, fmhall@ag.tamu.edu; or Aaron Hoff at 817-493-5581, hoffa@trinityra.org.
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