The Record Newspapers - Hometown News For Orange County, Texas

A Texas Watershed Steward workshop addressing water quality issues

related to Adams and Cow bayous watershed will be held from 8 a.m. to 4

p.m. on Oct. 24 at the Shangri La Nature Center, 2111 West Park Ave.,

Orange.

The workshop is free and seating will be limited, so participants are encouraged to preregister at http://tws.tamu.edu or by calling Noelle Jordan at the nature center at 409-670-9113.

The

Texas Watershed Steward program is sponsored by the Texas AgriLife

Extension Service and the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board

in coordination with the Sabine River Authority and the Texas Commission

on Environmental Quality.

"The training is open to anyone

interested in improving water quality in Adams and Cow bayous," said Roy

Stanford, AgriLife Extension agent for agriculture and natural

resources, Orange County. “The training is designed to help watershed

residents improve and protect their water resources by becoming involved

in local watershed protection and management activities.”

Stanford

said the workshop will include an overview of water quality and

watershed management in Texas. Its primarily focus, however, will be

water quality issues relating to the bayous, including current efforts

to help improve and protect the health of these important water

resources.

The training also provides a discussion of watershed

systems, types and sources of water pollution, and ways to improve and

protect water quality. There also will be group discussion on

community-driven watershed protection and management.

“Adams and

Cow bayous are a critical resource for the area,” said Stanford. “For

example, they feed into the Sabine River and support agricultural

production, recreational activities and other economic assets. The

bayous are also considered to be an important wildlife habitat area.”

This

workshop is being held in conjunction with efforts by the Sabine River

Authority and environmental quality commission to implement the Adams

and Cow bayous’ total maximum daily load. Adams Bayou was first placed

on the state’s list of impaired waters in 1996 and Cow Bayou in 2000,

both for elevated levels of bacteria and depressed dissolved oxygen

concentrations.

Efforts are currently under way to reduce

pollutant levels in Adams and Cow bayous by working with local residents

and property owners to develop an implementation plan relative to their

total maximum daily load.

More plan information can be found at http://www.sra.dst.tx.us/srwmp/octmdl/default.asp.

“Along

with the free training, participants receive a copy of the Texas

Watershed Steward Handbook and a certificate of completion,” said Chad

Caperton, AgriLife Extension agent for natural resources, Jasper County.

The

program also offers seven continuing education units in soil and water

management for certified crop advisers, seven units for professional

engineers and certified planners, and seven continuing education credits

for certified teachers. It also offers three general continuing

education units for Texas Department of Agriculture pesticide license

holders, three for certified landscape architects and three for

certified floodplain managers.

“Participating in the Texas

Watershed Steward program is a great opportunity to get involved and

make a difference in your watershed,” Caperton said.

To preregister, go to http://tws.tamu.edu or contact Jordan at 409-670-9113 or [email protected].

For

more information on the Texas Watershed Steward program, contact Galen

Roberts, AgriLife Extension program coordinator at 979-862-8070 or

[email protected].

For more information on the total maximum

daily load implementation efforts in the Adams and Cow bayous watershed,

contact Chip Morris at 512-239-6686 or [email protected] .

The

Texas Watershed Steward program is funded through a Clean Water Act

§319(h) nonpoint source grant from the Texas State Soil and Water

Conservation Board and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.