Upper San Marcos River Projects by Mary Van Zant, RSI

River SystemsInstituteUPPER SAN MARCOSRIVER PROJECTSContact us:River Systems Institute601 University DriveSan Marcos, TX 78666-4616Phone: 512-245-9200www.rivers.txstate.edurivers@txstate.edu1

THE PROJECTS• San Marcos ObservingSystem (SMOS)2009 - 2011• Spring Lake WatershedCharacterization andManagementRecommendationsReport2010 - 2012• Upper San MarcosWatershed ProtectionPlan2012 - 20152

SMOSintegratesphysical,hydrologic &geochemical,and biologicalresearchTHE SANMARCOSOBSERVINGSYSTEM (SMOS)Investigateaquaticresourceresponses• variation inflow regimes• anthropogenicimpacts• andinteractionsbetweennative andintroducedflora/fauna3

PHYSICAL•Aquatic Vegetation•Canopy and Shade•River Channel Topography•Riverbed Subsurface4

HYDROLOGIC & GEOCHEMICAL•Sediment and dissolvednutrient loads from stormevents• To determine how differentsprings respond in Spring Lake• Monitoring and groundwatercollection samples are taken fromwells in the Sink Creek drainage• Continuous and event data iscollected from Sessom Creek5

BIOLOGICAL•Determine spatial andtemporal trends in occurrenceand abundance ofmacrophytes,macroinvertebrates, andfishes within the upper SanMarcos River•Assess spatial and temporaltrends in habitat associationsof the upper San Marcosaquatic community6

SPRING LAKEWATERSHEDCHARACTERIZATION ANDRECOMMENDATIONSREPORTObtain datain order totargetnutrientinputs toSpring LakeDeterminetheinfluence ofvarioussources ofwater onthe algaeandturbidity ofSpring Lake7

COMPONENTS•This project combines data collectionand a stakeholder process to result in aWatershed Characterization•Phase I is an Existing Data Inventory•Phase II is a Data Analysis of new DataCollected in the Project•Phase III is an Estimation of LoadReductions8

WATERSHED CHARACTERIZATION –PHASE 1: DATA INVENTORYMean monthly precipitation at theCity of San Marcos (1946 – 2011).•A Watershed Inventory•GeographicRepresentation•Evaluation of Sink CreekWatershed Land UsePatterns•Evaluation of NPSgroundwater sourceregions9

WATER QUALITY DATA COLLECTIONAND MONITORING – PHASE II• Continuous Monitoring Program Site Locations and Installation utilizing In-SituTROLL 9500 Professional-XP customizable probes to collect the following data:• Dissolved oxygen (mg/L)• Specific conductance (µS/cm)• Temperature ( o C)• pH/oxidation-reduction potential (E h )• Depth (m)• Turbidity – self cleaning (NTU).• Storm Flow Monitoring Program at 4 locations in Sink Creek• Total phosphorus (TP) concentration• Total nitrogen (TN) concentration• Nitrate-N• Ammonium-N concentration• Orthophosphorus (Ortho-P) concentration• Total suspended solids (TSS) and/or non-volatile suspended solids (NVSS)• Turbidity• Escherichia coli (E. coli).• Periodic Monitoring Program via Grab samples• TP concentration• TN concentration• Nitrate-N concentration• Ammonium-N concentration• Ortho-P concentration• TSS and/or NVSS• Turbidity• E. Coli10

WATERSHED CHARACTERIZATION – PHASE III:IDENTIFICATION OF CAUSES AND SOURCES OFPOLLUTION AND ESTIMATION OF POLLUTANT LOADSREPORT• Watershed Goals and Targets/ManagementObjectives• Identify Causes and Sources of Pollution• Identify Existing Management Efforts• Estimate Pollutant Loads• Identify Potential Critical Areas and GeneralManagement Measures Which Could Lead to LoadReductions• Geographic Representation11

UPPER SAN MARCOSWATERSHEDPROTECTION PLANThis waterbody isimpaired forelevatedTDS, and aWPP willexploremanagementimpacts tosurface andgroundwaterresources.12

COMPONENTS• A Stakeholder Process• Utilize Data from Past Projects: SMOS & Spring Lake• Modeling and New Data Collection to identify Causes andsources of pollution• Estimating expected pollution reduction levels• Identifying critical areas of the watershed• Describing management measures needed• Estimating the costs of technical assistance and sources offunding• Outlining an education outreach component• Developing a feasible implementation schedule• Establishing milestones to assess the effectiveness of planimplementation• Developing criteria for assessing success• And establishing a long-term monitoring effort13

•SMOS:http://www.smos-rsi.org/•Spring Lake WatershedCharacterization (underconstruction):http://www.rivers.txstate.edu/research/rivers/san-marcos-riverprojects/spring-lake-watershedcharacterization.html•And USMWPP (underconstruction)http://www.rivers.txstate.edu/research/rivers.html#san_marcos_riverPROJECTWEBSITES14

Thank YouPresented by: Mary Van Zantwaters@txstate.edu512-245-7551www.rivers.txstate.edu15