The Gazette-Enterprise

SEGUIN — About 80 people attended an organizational meeting for an $800,000 water quality study of Geronimo and Alligator creeks Tuesday night.

The meeting, conducted by Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority, the Texas AgriLife Extension service and the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, was called to get the public involved in a plan to protect the watershed that runs from northeast of New Braunfels through Guadalupe County into the Guadalupe River southeast of Seguin.

The study will be conducted in conjunction with a flood study of the watershed that’s been contracted by Guadalupe County, and officials expect it to result in a plan to reduce pollution in the creek.

“The purpose of this meeting is to get the local community involved in developing a volunteer, locally driven watershed protection plan to address the issues of elevated levels of bacteria and nutrient levels,” said Nikki Dictson, water quality specialist with the Texas AgriLife Extension Service. “We’re here to describe the process and ask for your active participation in the process.”

Members of the audience in GBRA’s River Annex identified themselves as either local residents or property owners or members of state or local government agencies, and expressed their concerns about the quality of the water that flows through Geronimo Creek or its periodic flooding.

Guadalupe County Assistant Director of Environmental Health Jimmy Harless greeted the participants on behalf of County Judge Mike Wiggins and said the county supports the water quality study.

“They’ll focus on the water quality aspect, and we’re going to work the flooding aspect of this,” Harless said. “We’re excited to take part.”

Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority General Manager Bill West said the water quality study would be similar to one recently completed of the Plum Creek watershed in Hays and Caldwell counties.

“Call it best management practices, call it conservation, call it whatever you will, what this is all about is land stewardship,” West said. “I know many of you own land on Geronimo Creek that’s been in your families for years. We’re very proud to participate in this process.”

GBRA Director of Water Quality Services Debbie Magin showed a map of the watershed, and told participants a little bit about it. At 44,152 acres, it was just more than 69 square miles in area, Magin said. About 45.5 percent of that is cropland, while 31.6 is rangeland. Just under 10 percent of it is forested, while 11.5 percent is developed land. Alligator Creek flows intermittently while Geronimo Creek always flows.

Average rainfall in the watershed is about 29 inches per year. The average flow at State Highway 123 is 5 cubic feet-per-second. By comparison, average flow for the Guadalupe River at Seguin is about 500 cubic feet per second.

Every two years, the state conducts surveys of water quality in all of its watersheds, and Geronimo Creek has exceeded the state standard for E. Coli infestation of 126 organisms per 100 ML of water, coming in at 162. It was a similar story on nitrogen, Magin said.

Brian Koch with the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board said his agency would be interested in what it learns through the planning process — particularly when it comes to the concerns of property owners and other stakeholders in the watershed.

“We’re focusing on bacteria and lowering the nutrient levels,” Koch said. “There might be other concerns, and we can add all of that into a watershed protection plan. This is the time to step up, said, ‘This is one of the concerns we have.’”

Dictson said the development of the plan would take place in six steps — the first of which, building a partnership, began Tuesday night. Volunteers were given surveys to complete in which they were offered the opportunity to take part in a 25-member steering committee that would direct the study and vote to resolve any differences in setting and reaching its goals. Another opportunity would be to volunteer as a member of one or more working groups. They have until Nov. 20 to complete the surveys.

The steering committee will be chosen in December, with its first meeting set for Jan. 12.

Monthly meetings would be conducted over the next two years to design an implementation program, begin implementing it and making adjustments to improve the plan. After that, quarterly meetings would be conducted to monitor progress, she said.

“The goal of this whole process is to develop and implement this plan,” she said. “We’re trying to get the word out and get as many people as possible involved in the process. We’re here tonight to say we need you to make this a success.”

Once the plan is developed, Dictson said the partnership would work to secure grants to implement it, just as has happened in Plum Creek, which has seen more than nine tons of trash and abandoned household items removed by volunteers over the past two years.

“This is not designed to be a process for a plan that’s put on the shelf,” she said. “We’re going to implement this plan, monitor the progress and adjust it.”

Share | Save | Mail | Print | Comment

Bringing Life To Your Doorstep Since 1888

A Southern Newspapers publication.