The public is invited to attend the second project meeting for the Middle Yegua Creek Watershed Partnership on Feb. 13 at 5:30 p.m. at the Lee County Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Office, 310 South Grimes Street, in Giddings.
Interested stakeholders are invited to join the partnership, which will serve as the forum for the public input that will drive the development of a voluntary, stakeholder-driven watershed protection plan (WPP) for Middle Yegua Creek to outline strategies that can improve local water quality.
The second meeting will recap what was discussed during the kickoff meeting Jan. 9. Additionally, two chapters of the Middle Yegua Creek WPP, including Watershed Characterization and Water Quality, will be presented.
“The Watershed Characterization chapter provides information regarding the climate and landscape characteristics within the watershed boundary, and the Water Quality chapter provides information on bacteria, dissolved oxygen, and nutrient concentrations in Middle Yegua Creek based on the water samples collected in the past,” said Luna Yang, Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI) research specialist with Texas A&M AgriLife Research in College Station.
“Anyone with an interest in restoring the soundness of Middle Yegua Creek can be a member of the partnership by attending meetings and being involved in the WPP development process,” she said.
Middle Yegua Creek above Lake Somerville is a tributary in the Brazos River Basin.
“Water samples collected in Middle Yegua Creek by the Brazos River Authority and TWRI confirmed the presence of bacteria concentrations that were above the applicable standard for recreational activities that may involve water ingestion,” Yang said.
Funding for developing a WPP for Middle Yegua is provided by the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, through the State Nonpoint Source Grant Program.
TWRI is part of Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University.
For more information, contact Yang at luna.yang@ag.tamu.edu. Read more about the watershed at middleyegua.twri.tamu.edu.
