Dear Stream Team Family,
We cannot believe 2020 is coming to an end, and what an unorthodox year it has been. This year has confirmed even more of what we already knew about our Texas Stream Team community – we have a strong group of passionate volunteers dedicated to continuing to provide a voice for our Texas waterways. We greatly appreciate everyone’s patience, offered collaboration, and time dedicated to helping Texas Stream Team move forward during a roller coaster of a year.
As of late October, Texas Stream Team staff has started to lead in-person trainings in a limited capacity. Texas Stream Team staff will continue to monitor COVID conditions and operate under Texas State University guidelines. Updates will be provided as they are received. Please continue to perform water quality monitoring and trainings under safe and socially distant conditions as much as possible.
Texas Stream Team has been making a lot of updates to reduce COVID risks. A big addition to our program is that we now offer virtual trainings for selective trainings. We are excited for future opportunities the virtual world brings for our program, especially that we are able to reach Texans from all over in a single setting.
Tell us your thoughts, would you like to see more Texas Stream Team trainings offered in a virtual platform?
Yes
No
As the holidays near, we wanted to remind you all that Texas State University has the following holidays coming up in which the Texas Stream Team headquarters will be closed:
- Thanksgiving – Nov. 25-29. Our offices will open back up November 30.
- Winter Break – Dec. 21-Jan. 1. Our offices will open back up January 4.
There is much to share for this newsletter; updated training resources, new partnerships, the 2020 Golden Secchi Award winner, and much more! Continue reading for the latest insight into all things Texas Stream Team.
Sincerely,
Aspen Navarro
Texas Stream Team Program Coordinator
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Upcoming Trainings
Standard Core – San Marcos
November 8 | 2:00pm – 6:00pm learn more >>
Standard Core – San Marcos
November 15 | 10:00am – 1:00pm learn more >>
Riparian Evaluation – Online
December 05 | 8:00am – 11:30pm learn more >>
Standard Core – San Marcos
December 06 | 10:00am – 1:00pm learn more >>
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Stream Team Fest Postponed to Next Fall
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the need for social distancing, Texas Stream Team has made the decision to postpone Stream Team Fest to the Fall of 2021. The health and welfare of the public are our highest priority. Texas Stream Team will provide updates on the event as it gets closer.
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Texas Coastal Collaborative Project Kicks Off
Texas Stream Team works with communities across Texas to integrate stormwater management and non-point source (NPS) pollution control. Over the past year, Texas Stream Team has worked to identify and collaborate with communities in regions that are especially vulnerable to the effects of NPS pollution. Included within these regions is the coastal zone of Texas, which is not only exceptionally ecologically unique, but also highly vulnerable to habitat loss, storm surge damage, flooding, and water-quality degradation as a result of frequent natural disasters. Unfortunately, many coastal communities lack the financial and technical resources needed to adequately address these environmental issues.
As part of an ongoing effort to address these issues and increase the amount of statewide citizen scientist environmental stewardship, Texas Stream Team has teamed-up with the Texas Coastal Collaborative (TCC), a diverse group of scientists, educators, engineers, and communication professionals. Comprised of The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment (Texas State University), Texas Community and Watershed Partners (AgriLife), Texas Sea Grant, and Doucet and Association, the TCC aims to assist target communities with issues of stormwater management and water quality. Read more >>
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San Antonio River Authority Reignites Partnership
Throughout the years, Texas Stream Team has seen partnerships come and go like the ebbing flow of a river. It is rare to have partnerships that stay rolling strong. This is one of the many reasons why one of Texas Stream Team’s long-standing goals is to set up “hubs” in areas to sustain local monitoring efforts and engage communities long-term. For this reason, Texas Stream Team is eager to reignite efforts with one of our amazing partners – the San Antonio River Authority!
The San Antonio River Authority has stepped up as a Texas Stream Team Leadership Partner to support citizen science efforts within their River Warrior volunteer efforts. The San Antonio River Authority plans to host trainings, environmental education events, and coordinate water quality monitoring efforts.
The San Antonio River Authority, created in 1937, is one of many such active river authorities in the State of Texas. Its jurisdiction covers 3,658 square miles—all of Bexar, Wilson, Karnes and Goliad Counties. We are excited to see Texas Stream Team growth in one of the most populated cities in Texas!
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Decades of Passion & Services to Texas Stream Team: Rachel Sanborn Receives the 2020 Golden Secchi Disk Award Winner
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In the realm of Texas Stream Team water quality monitoring, no one radiates more enthusiasm and dedication than Rachel Sanborn. From leading one of our biggest monitoring groups, the San Marcos River Rangers, to training over 456 citizen scientists, Rachel is an all-star ambassador for our program.
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Selecting her as our 2020 Golden Secchi Disk Awardee, also known as the Citizen Scientist of the Year Award, was a hands-down decision for all of us at Texas Stream Team. Read more >>
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Your Remarkable Riparian Book Set
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Texas Stream Team would like to remind folks about this handy dandy field guide – Your Remarkable Riparian! Texas Stream Team’s Riparian Evaluation Citizen Scientist training is based on the Your Remarkable Riparian Field Guide.
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The 3rd edition of Your Remarkable Riparian Field Guide covers most of Texas’ watersheds and includes valuable tools for teaching landowners, creek side communities, conservationists, students, and nature enthusiasts how to improve and protect riparian areas. The updated Field Guide includes more photographs and descriptions of the plants, grasses, shrubs, and trees species that are integral to a healthy river system.
Purchase a copy of Your Remarkable Riparian Field Guide for you and your favorite river enthusiast by visiting our online store! Be sure to get your orders in by Dec. 11 to get it in time for the holidays!
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MONITORING TIPS & UPDATES
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New & Improved Monitoring Forms
All Texas Stream Team monitoring activities fall under a United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) approved quality assurance project plan (QAPP) to ensure consistent data quality is collected.
Currently, Texas Stream Team is working to ensure quality control protocols are maintained while monitoring by updating monitoring forms to include a Field Quality Control Checklist. Additionally, Texas Stream Team extracted the E. coli Bacteria reporting section from the Core Environmental Monitoring Form to a new, standalone monitoring form. Please be sure to fill out and submit both monitoring forms if conducting both Core and E. coli Bacteria monitoring.
Monitoring forms can be found on our Citizen Scientist Forms and Resources page. Texas Stream Team recommends always accessing the form on this page to ensure you have the latest versions. The following are the latest monitoring forms that have been updated:
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TEXAS STREAM TEAM DATA SHOWCASE
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Texas Stream Team is very fortunate to have 29 years (and counting) of wonderful and dedicated volunteers that help us gain a better understanding of our Texas water bodies through water quality monitoring. Because of our amazing citizen scientists, we hold a plethora of data and want to start showcasing this data in our newsletters every quarter to show data trends, tips, updates, and more!
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New Datamap Features
Texas Stream Team has rolled out some useful features to the Datamap. Please note the following updates:
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The embedded water quality data table has been removed to improve loading times. It is still accessible via a link in the How-to panel.
Additional site layers have been added so you can see the active testing occurring at each site based on the training type. Use the map menu to toggle the layers you want to see.
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A legend panel tells you what layers are currently visible and will change when you select different layers.
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Not new, but a returning feature, is the Active/Inactive selection buttons. You may select one or both to view the desired status of sites.
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San Bernard River Data Summary Report
Every quarter, Texas Stream Team analyzes collected data in a specific watershed through Data Summary Reports. Texas Stream Team’s Data Summary Reports highlight trends, environmental factors, Texas Stream Team activities and more within the selected watershed. This quarter, the San Bernard River watershed was selected and is located along the Texas Gulf Coast.
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This report focused on four (Hanson Park-81005, CR 496-80594, Cox’s Reef-80775 and Fisherman’s Isle-80509) of the seven sites with the most data. A total of 328 monitoring events were recorded on the Waterways Dataviewer and included measurements for flow severity, air and water temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, salinity, specific conductance, Secchi disk, E. coli, and nitrate-nitrogen. Results from four monitoring sites with the most data were analyzed and compared to established water quality criteria when appropriate. Read report >>
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Photo: Texas Stream Team monitoring sites in the San Bernard River (tidal segment 1301) watershed and the San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge.
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Want Texas Stream Team to highlight your community event? Send us a description and photo to TxStreamTeam@txstate.edu to be included in our next Waterways Newsletter.
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Today we join the US Water Alliance to #imagineadaywithoutwater. What would the Lone Star State be like without water? Let’s just say it would most definitely MESS with Texas. Water has, in many ways, made Texas what it is today. Read more >>
A north Texas lake is fully infested with zebra mussels and reproducing, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Read more >>
The Shoal Creek Conservancy launched a new Creekside Neighbors Program to provide residents living along Shoal Creek with the tools and resources they need to take an active role in improving Shoal Creek’s water quality. Read more >>
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On the central Texas coast, Lavaca Bay is already poisoned by mercury. Climate change will only make matters worse there—and at 944 other hazardous-waste sites across the country. Read more >>
Texas A&M Corpus Christi and Del Mar Community College are investing $3.2 million in the project over the next five years. Read more >>
“Texas is going to have a significant confrontation between rising demand … and diminishing supplies.” Read more >>
Rice University chemical engineers found an efficient catalyst for destroying PFAS “forever” chemicals where they least expected. Read more >>
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Are you interested in partnering with Texas Stream Team? Let us know!
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Mailing address:
601 University Drive
San Marcos, Texas 78666
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Visit us:
201 San Marcos Springs Drive
San Marcos, Texas 78666
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