VICTORIA – The Texas Water Resources Institute, or TWRI, is hosting a Feb. 6 meeting on improving water quality in the Garcitas and Arenosa creeks watersheds that feed into Matagorda Bay.
The meeting, which is free and open to the public, will be at 1 p.m. at the Victoria County 4-H Activity Center, 259 Bachelor Drive in Victoria.
Dr. Allen Berthold, TWRI senior research scientist, College Station, said the meeting is the third in a series of meetings with local stakeholders to address water quality impairments in Arenosa Creek and Garcitas Creek.
“Bacteria concentration in Arenosa Creek currently exceeds the state water quality standard for recreation,” he said.
Berthold said through a project it manages, TWRI is working with local landowners, agricultural producers, residents and other stakeholders to develop a plan comprised of strategies to reduce bacteria and other pollutants in local waterways and improve water quality.
“At the meeting, we will discuss watershed protection plans from nearby watersheds and get local input to help quantify potential pollutant sources,” he said.
Michael Schramm, TWRI research associate, College Station, said the meeting’s primary purpose is to fine-tune the data to be used in the future watershed plan.
“Getting local involvement from interested individuals and developing a voluntary plan of action is the first step to successfully improving and protecting water quality,” he said.
For more information, visit http://matagordabasin.tamu.edu or contact Schramm at michael.schramm@ag.tamu.edu.
TWRI is part of Texas A&M AgriLife Research, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University.
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Contacts: Allen Berthold, 979-845-2028, taberthold@ag.tamu.edu
Michael Schramm, 979-458-9191, michael.schramm@ag.tamu.edu