A Texas Watershed Steward workshop on water quality related to Kickapoo Creek will be held in Chandler from 1-5 p.m. on Feb. 16.
The event will be held at the Chandler Community Center, 811 State Highway 31 E. The workshop is free and open to anyone interested in improving water quality in the region. Light refreshments will be provided.
A virtual attendance option is available for those unable to attend in person. To attend in person or online, participants must preregister at https://tx.ag/TWSReg or by calling 979-862-4457. Attendees of the workshop will receive a copy of the Texas Watershed Steward Handbook and be eligible to earn a certificate of completion.
The event will be presented by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board in cooperation with the Texas Institute for Applied Environmental Research.
Kickapoo watershed involvement
“This workshop is designed to help watershed residents learn about their water resources and how they may become involved in local watershed protection and management activities,” said Michael Kuitu, AgriLife Extension program specialist and coordinator for the Texas Watershed Steward program, Bryan-College Station.
Kuitu said that once registered, additional meeting information will be provided to participants.
The workshop will include a discussion on watershed systems, along with types and sources of water pollution. There will be a group discussion on community-driven watershed protection and management. The program also includes an overview of water quality as it relates to watershed management at the local level.
Kickapoo Creek, located in the Neches River Basin, is approximately 41 miles in length, a portion of which has been identified as being impaired for excess levels of bacteria and low levels of dissolved oxygen. Therefore, this workshop is being held in support of ongoing efforts within the basin to protect water quality.
Continuing education opportunities
The Texas Watershed Steward program offers continuing education units, CEUs, for multiple professional disciplines. The quantity of continuing education offered may vary for select disciplines, depending on whether one attends in person or virtually.
For those who attend in person, four hours of continuing education is offered for the following professional disciplines: soil and water management for certified crop advisers; professional engineers; certified teachers; professional geoscientists; certified landscape architects; certified floodplain managers; and 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. The American Institute of Certified Planners will offer four certification maintenance and 1.5 law CEUs
In addition, three general CEUs are offered for Texas Department of Agriculture private pesticide applicator license holders, and two credits are offered for nutrient management specialists. For questions regarding professional continuing education afforded to virtual attendees, please contact Kuitu.
Funding for this effort is provided through a federal Clean Water Act §319(h) Nonpoint Source Grant administered by the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
For more information on the Texas Watershed Steward program, go to the website or contact Kuitu at 979-862-4457, michael.kuitu@ag.tamu.edu; or Spencer Perkins, AgriLife Extension agent for Henderson County, 903-675-6130, spencer.perkins@ag.tamu.edu.
For more information on the Kickapoo Creek watershed, contact Leah Taylor at 254-968-0513, ltaylor@tarleton.edu.
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