Contact: Clare Entwistle, 210-277-0292, Ext. 110, clare.entwistle@ag.tamu.edu
Patricia Carvajal, 210-302-3672, pmcarvajal@sara-tx.org
MARION – The Texas Water Resources Institute will host two May meetings related to water quality improvements of the mid and lower Cibolo Creek watershed.
The institute is part of Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University.
Coordinators said the meetings are the first in a series with local watershed stakeholders to develop strategies needed to address and find solutions to water quality impairments in the watershed.
The first meeting will be May 18 at 6 p.m. at the Bexar Social Hall, 15681 Bexar Bowling in Marion. The second will be May 30 at 6 p.m. at Kosciusko Hall, 7975 E. Farm-to-Market Road 541 in Stockdale.
Clare Entwistle, a research associate with Texas Water Resources Institute in College Station, said identical information will be distributed at both meetings, so interested people can attend either meeting.
“The mid and lower portions of Cibolo Creek are both currently designated by the state as impaired because of elevated bacteria concentrations and low dissolved oxygen concentrations,” she said.
The institute is coordinating a project with the San Antonio River Authority to develop a watershed-based plan, Entwistle noted. She said the initial meetings will provide an introduction to the stakeholder process and the watershed planning process.
“We will explain the watershed-based planning process to address these water quality concerns and the proposed timeline for developing a plan,” she said.
She said current water quality data will also be presented, as well as an introduction to point and nonpoint pollution sources for the different impairments.
Entwistle said interested stakeholders should become part of the planning process.
“We’re encouraging citizens of the region to attend as their input is essential for identifying land and water issues and ensuring that appropriate and desirable management measures are included in the watershed-based plan,” she said.
For more information, contact Entwistle at clare.entwistle@ag.tamu.edu or Patricia Carvajal with San Antonio River Authority at pmcarvajal@sara-tx.org.
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