"Scientists on the east coast have noticed a dramatic decline in the numbers of menhaden.
They are worried because these fish act as the base of the food chain. So as the population of menhaden
declines so does the population of other sport fish such as bluefish, trout and redfish."
John Wedig
Senior Aquatic Scientist, Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA)
Executive Summary
Executive Summary:
LCRA's John Wedig chatted with Cyberways and Waterways participants about Texas rivers and the Colorado river in particular. Here are some highlights:
Water is a precious commodity in Texas. The value of water is going to increase until it mimics that of what we are paying for oil now. The quantity is going to become more and more important.
LCRA is both a conservation and reclamation district that provides flood control and generates electricity for an area that covers 10 counties, from San Saba to Matagorda on the coast. The LCRA enforces a non-point source ordinance around the Highland Lakes to encourage businesses to control runoff from their sites and control storm water runoff.
The LCRA is undertaking a 7-year study to ensure the environment and specifically Matagorda Bay are not going to be harmed if it pursues a floodwater capture project and sells water to San Antonio. In this plan, LCRA will sell 150,000 acre feet of water to San Antonio every year. If the study determines there will be any negative impact, the water deal will not occur.
The Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission www.tnrcc.state.tx.us is the state agency responsible for ensuring water quality along the Rio Grande.
Texas has a water planning process, known as Senate Bill 1 (SB1) that outlines a water planning process.
We monitor river quality from both a chemical (sampling the water column) and biological (aquatic insects and fish) perspective. For chemical monitoring, we sample 70+ locations every other month, testing 26 different pollutants in each sample. We also support a volunteer monitoring organization, the Colorado River Watch Network,
www.lcra.org/lands/wrp/edu/vm_crwnmeet.htm, that test for six different pollutants including nutrients and bacteria. For biological monitoring, we sample 24 locations four times a year to include seasonal changes. August is the most stressful time of year, when the water temperatures are the highest and dissolved oxygen levels the lowest.
Texas Parks and Wildlife www.tpwd.state.tx.us regulates recreational activities like boating and fishing. For example, they set the size, bag and possesion limits for fish caught in any public water body.
One of the largest hurdles that I've had to overcome is improving my writing skills. You can have all the facts and the right answers but unless you can communicate them to other people, it doesn't do much good to have the correct answers.
Droughts have been part of our weather pattern in Texas forever. We are finding that the weather, the water temperature of the Pacific Ocean impacts our weather patterns from year to year, with El Nino and La Nina impacting precipitation in the Southwest. In the 1950's, we went for seven straight years without any appreciable rainfall. We try to plan for all types of drought in the water planning process. The "silver lining" during a drought we don't have to worry about the most common type of pollution, non-point source pollution.
Lawn watering is probably the largest waste of water. Watering the lawn every five days is sufficient. So, work with your parents to ensure that you don't over water lawns and promote plants that use less water (zerioscaping) to conserve resources. Varieties of grass like Bermuda and buffalo grass require less water than the common St. Augustine grass.
One of the best strategies for educating the public is through kids. Recycling is a great example. Educational campaigns aimed at the schools encouraged kids to take the message home to mom and dad. Today, recycling is a common practice.
Years of abuse and the cumulative effects of pollution ends up in the ocean. There seems to be evidence that this neglect is impacting ocean fisheries. Specifically, there is one fish called a menhaden, which is a shad-like fish. Scientists on the east coast have noticed a dramatic decline in the numbers of menhaden and they are worried because these fish act as the base of the food chain with other fish feeding off the menhaden. So as the population of menhaden declines so does the population of other sport fish such as bluefish, trout and redfish.
