Water Quality Monitoring on Cypress Creek:

Professional and citizen monitoring ensure that the water quality in Cypress Creek and the Blanco River will remain high for future generations.

by Travis Tidwell

The Cypress Creek Project is a collaborative process initiated by local stakeholders in the Cypress Creek watershed with the purpose of keeping the creek "clear, clean, and flowing." The project is a partnership involving the Environmental Protection Agency, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, a coordinating committee of local stakeholders, and is facilitated by The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University. 

Texas, Water Options: Before Pipelines & Dams

Contact: For Immediate Release 
Christy Muse, Executive Director 
Hill Country Alliance (christy@hillcountryalliance.org)
www.HillCountryAlliance.org
512.560.3135
TEXAS’ WATER OPTIONS: BEFORE PIPELINES & DAMS
Author: Mike Mecke, HCA Advisory Board and Water Team member.  Mike is a retired rangeland and water resource specialist residing in Kerr County.  He is a regular columnist for Ranch and Rural Living Magazine. 
(March 8, 2013) Texas has been growing rapidly for many decades and seems that we are also getting hotter and drier.

Water - A brief Hill Country perspective

The Boerne Star

By Milan Michalec, Cibolo Nature Center | Posted: Tuesday, March 5, 2013 11:45 am

Beginni ng with the first humans who wandered through the land between the Edwards Plateau and the Coastal Plain of Texas, better known as the Hill Country, once abundant groundwater sustained the growth of this region.

Here, countless artesian springs were the foundation of life for the native people over the course of thousands of years and fostered the expansive growth of permanent settlement beginning with the Spanish Missions of the 15th Century.

WVWA Concerned Citizens Suit Over Golf Course Pemit Schedule Nov. 13th

A hearing has been set for November 13 on pending Motions for Summary Judgment in a suit filed by Concerned Citizens and the Wimberley Valley Watershed Association (WVWA) against the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District (HTGCD).   

Concerned Citizens and the WVWA have appealed to the District Court to require the HTGCD to hold a contested case hearing on the application of Wimberley Springs Partners to pump millions of gallons of groundwater from the Trinity Aquifer in the vicinity of Jacob’s Well.   

The District and Wimberley Springs Partners  have asked the court to deny the appeal by summary judgment.  Judge Bill Henry is scheduled to hear the pending motions which could determine the outcome of the case.  The economic and environmental health of the Wimberley Valley are at stake. Citizens who are interested in protecting the flow of Jacob’s Well, Blue Hole and Cypress Creek may attend the court to show their support and hear the presentations. 

Motions for Summary Judgment are set to be heard by Judge Henry at 9 a.m. Tuesday November 13.  The matter will be heard in Courtroom 10, 3d Floor of the new Government Center for which directions from the web site are the following:  

Those who wish to attend should arrive at the the Hays County District Clerk offices have moved to the new Government Center at 712 South Stagecoach Trail, San Marcos, TX 78666.

GPS locators/maps do not have the correct location of our new building and may show you a similar, private address that is not close to the Government Center.

To find the Government Center: take the Wonder World Drive exit off of IH-35 and head west, or head east on Wonder World Drive from Hunter Road. At the bottom of the Wonder World Drive railroad overpass, turn North on South Stagecoach Trail. The Government Center is a large, stand-alone building at the end of the cul-de-sac.

WVWA Fall Membership Picnic October 20th 4pm-7pm

Saturday, October 20th, 4pm- 7pm

Dancing Waters Retreat 
1405 Mt Sharp Rd Wimberley 

RSVP online to be entered in the Drawing to Win 
a Weekend Retreat in Junction, TX at 
Cool River Cabin donated by Native American Seed
 

Join Friends of Jacob's Well and WVWA for a picnic at the Well with music by Kim Miller and Blue Grass Jam with Mike and Louie Bond and Amanda Mora with Cellist Mollie Fischer.  Go to www.wimberleywatershed.org to RSVP by contributing your $35 family membership fee.  Your online membership renewal supports WVWA's programs to keep Jacob's Well, Cypress Creek and the Blanco River clean, clear and flowing and includes entry to the membership picnic, a T-shirt, monthly news updates, and a chance to win the Weekend Retreat in Junction 

Wimberley Valley Watershed Association

PO BOX 2534

Wimberley, Texas 78676

Cypress Creek Project Fall Gathering Nov. 11th

Cypress Creek Watershed Fall Gathering

The Meadows Center and community partners are hosting the Cypress Creek Project Fall Gathering at the Wimberley Community Center on Sunday November 11, 2012 from 12pm-4pm (Veteran's Day).  The event will be a fun way for the community to learn more about its water resources and how to protect them.  There will be activities and information to promote volunteer water quality efforts in the watershed, update the community on the current status of project efforts, and to explore our wonderful hill country environment and visit with neighbors.

Texas Stream Team will be in attendance with an interactive watershed model, water quality testing demonstrations, and species identification.  Local businesses and partnering organizations will also be available, as well as food and drinks, a water-wise landscaping talk, and a raffle.  Members of the Cypress Creek Project team will also be on hand displaying the project's progress, what to expect within the next year, to gain feedback about the plan and its implementation, and to answer any questions.

For more information about the Cypress Creek Watershed Protection Plan, visit our About Us page, or feel free to call or email.  We look forward to seeing you!

Keeping our Water Healthy: New Easements to Protect Edwards Aquifer

Keeping our Water Healthy: New Easements to Protect Edwards Aquifer

Posted on September 28th, 2012 

By By Dr. Francine Sanders Romero

Over the next few months, San Antonio City Council will begin considering recommendations from the Conservation Advisory Board (CAB), signaling the commencement of the current round of the $90 million sales-tax-funded, voter-approved Edwards Aquifer Protection Program.

The mechanics of the program have evolved somewhat since its inception over ten years ago, but the essence remains consistent-utilize an acquisition mechanism to maintain land over the Aquifer Recharge Zone in a relatively undevel oped state, thereby protecting our primary water source.  Citizens are on board with the effort, having supported this .08% sales tax supplement three times (2000, 2005, 2010), all by comfortable margins.  But, the innovative nature of this particular program, beginning to garner nationwide attention, may not be fully appreciated.

With Council consideration pending, this is an appropriate time to provide an overview of the aquifer's program.  After all, CAB (comprised of representatives from various city/regional entities) will generally be recommending the expenditure of millions of dollars per purchase.  In almost all cases this will not be to purchase the land outright, but for a conservation easement - typically on a large ranch in Uvalde or Medina County (although purchases in Bexar may also materialize). Read more..