Medina River watershed meeting set on March 28 in Castroville
Stakeholders are invited to learn about and contribute to improving water quality in the Medina River below Medina Diversion Lake
The Texas Water Resources Institute, TWRI, is hosting a watershed protection planning meeting on March 28 in Castroville.
The meeting will be at the St. Louis Braden Keller Community Center, 1410 Amelia St., for those interested in becoming involved in a partnership to improve and protect the Lower Medina River watershed.
Lucas Gregory, Ph.D., TWRI associate director, said the meeting is the third in a series of meetings with watershed stakeholders to develop strategies needed to address water quality impairments in the watershed.
“The Lower Medina River and Medio Creek are currently designated by the state as impaired because of elevated bacteria concentrations,” he said. “There are also nutrient concerns present in the watershed. Both the impairment and concerns can begin to be addressed through the watershed plan.”
Seeking watershed protection plan stakeholder input
Gregory said the meeting will focus on stakeholder reviews and comments on the first three chapters of the watershed protection plan and ground rules for the partnership. There also will be discussions on the development of workgroups and chapter four, which will be focused on potential sources of pollution if time permits.
“We’re encouraging citizens of the region to attend these meetings, to ensure appropriate and desirable management measures are included in the watershed plan,” he said. “Stakeholder input is critical in identifying appropriate strategies to address sources of bacteria and nutrients, and to improve water quality throughout the watershed.”
The institute is coordinating this project, along with the San Antonio River Authority, with the goal of collaborating with local stakeholders to develop a plan to address the water quality issues.
Funding for this effort is provided through a federal Clean Water Act Section 319(h) grant, administered by the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, from the U.S Environmental Protection Agency.
TWRI is a unit of Texas A&M AgriLife Research that combines expertise across the agencies of Texas A&M AgriLife.
For more information, contact Gregory at lfgregory@ag.tamu.edu or Patricia Carvajal with the San Antonio River Authority at pmcarvajal@sara-tx.org. Read more about the watershed at medina.twri.tamu.edu.
