A free Texas Watershed Steward workshop on the Rowlett Creek watershed will be on Aug. 13 in Plano.

A tree reflecting off the surface of the water. Residents will learn about the Rowlett Creek watershed and how to become more involved in improving, managing and protecting water quality during a Texas Watershed Steward meeting on Aug. 13 in Plano.
Residents living around Rowlett Creek will learn about the watershed and how to become more involved in improving, managing and protecting water quality during a Texas Watershed Steward meeting on Aug. 13 in Plano. (Sam Craft/Texas A&M AgriLife)

The workshop will be held from 1-5 p.m. at the Nature and Retreat Center, 5901 Los Rios Blvd. The event will be presented by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board in cooperation with the Rowlett Creek Watershed Partnership and the City of Plano.

Participants must preregister by visiting https://tx.ag/TWSRowlettCreek or by calling 979-321-5935. Additional meeting information will be provided after preregistration has been submitted.

“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 Texas Watershed Steward program coordinator in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Bryan-College Station.

Improving Rowlett Creek water quality

The workshop will include presentations on watershed systems and water pollution types and sources. There also will be a group discussion on community-driven watershed protection and management and an overview of water quality as it relates to watershed management at the local level.

Participants will receive a copy of the Texas Watershed Steward Handbook and are eligible to earn a certificate of completion.

Continuing education opportunities

The Texas Watershed Steward program offers continuing education units for multiple professional disciplines. The quantity of continuing education offered may vary for select disciplines.

Four hours of continuing education units will be available in the following professional disciplines: soil and water management for certified crop advisers, professional engineers, certified teachers, professional geoscientists and certified floodplain managers. American Institute of Certified Planners are eligible for four certification maintenance and one law hours.

Four CEUs are also 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.

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. Contact Kuitu for questions regarding CEU opportunities.

Funding for this effort is provided through a federal Clean Water Act Section 319(h) Nonpoint Source Grant administered by the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the venue is sponsored by the City of Plano.

For more information on the Texas Watershed Steward program, contact Kuitu at 979-321-5935 or [email protected].

For more information on Rowlett Creek, contact Fouad Jaber, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension specialist and professor in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Dallas, at 972-952-9672 or [email protected].  

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