The Texas Water Resources Institute, TWRI, will host a stakeholder meeting for the Medina River Below Medina Diversion Lake Watershed Protection Plan Sept. 9 in Castroville.
The public meeting will be from 1-4 p.m. at the Braden Keller Community Center, 1410 Amelia St.
Tina Hendon, TWRI program specialist, said the meeting is the fourth in a series of meetings with watershed stakeholders to develop strategies needed to address water quality impairments in the watershed.
“The watershed protection plan is being developed to address elevated bacteria concentrations in the Lower Medina River and Medio Creek,” she 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
Hendon said this meeting will provide an opportunity for stakeholders to review and discuss recommendations from recent technical Work Groups. These discussions will include potential sources of bacteria, priority areas for management, management measures to address pollutant sources, and education and outreach priorities for the watershed.
“Continued stakeholder input is critical in identifying appropriate strategies and partners to improve water quality throughout the watershed. We’re encouraging citizens of the region to attend these meetings, to ensure appropriate and desirable management measures are included in the watershed plan,” she said.
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 brings together expertise from across The Texas A&M University System.
For more information, contact Hendon at Tina.Hendon@ag.tamu.edu or Patricia Carvajal, San Antonio River Authority, at pmcarvajal@sara-tx.org. Read more about the watershed at medina.twri.tamu.edu.
