The public is invited to attend a project meeting and join the Middle Yegua Creek Watershed Partnership on May 14 at 5:30 p.m. at the Lee County Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Office, 310 South Grimes Street, in Giddings.
This partnership will serve as the forum for public input, which 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.
This event will be the project’s fourth stakeholder meeting, recap what was discussed during the third meeting on March 12, and address the revisions made to Chapter 4 regarding potential sources of pollutants based on stakeholder inputs. Additionally, a chapter of the WPP will be presented.
“At the fourth public meeting, we will discuss existing bacteria loads in Middle Yegua Creek and the reduction needed to meet the applicable water quality standards,” said Luna Yang, Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI) research specialist with Texas A&M AgriLife Research in College Station. “We will also discuss the distribution of potential bacteria loads across the watershed by source, including livestock, wildlife and failing septic tanks. In addition, we will identify subareas within the watershed that can be prioritized for implementing management measures.”
Anyone with an interest in restoring the soundness of Middle Yegua Creek can be a member of the partnership by attending meetings and providing feedback, 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 a unit of Texas A&M AgriLife Research that brings together expertise from across the Texas A&M University System.
For more information, contact Yang at luna.yang@ag.tamu.edu. Read more about the watershed at middleyegua.twri.tamu.edu.
