July 2008

In the Flow: The Freshwater News Bulletin from the River Systems Institute

Welcome to In the Flow, the weekly freshwater news wrapup and analysis prepared by the River Systems Institute. We are partnering with Public Strategies, Inc. to keep you apprised of the latest news and events concerning the river systems of Texas and important freshwater issues on a regional, national and world level.

Your Media Intelligence bulletin includes a synopsis of the top news items as well as links to the full text of the articles and to a larger selection of recent articles on freshwater topics. In order to read the full articles, click on individual links or on the link at the bottom of the email. You will arrive at the Executive Media Intelligence site, where you will be asked for your user name and password. Your user name is the first letter of your first name and your last name. The password for all In the Flow users is trs.

Judge Rules in Favor of Neches River National Wildlife Refuge

A federal judge's decision in favor of the Neches River National Wildlife Refuge could put Angelina County closer to an expected resulting tourism increase, officials say. "The impact it would have locally would be tremendous because of the increased tourism potential not only for Neches River, but for the entire area," said Julie Shackleford, programs director for Conservation Fund Texas, based in Nacogdoches. A Dallas U.S. district judge denied motions Monday by the City of Dallas and Texas Water Development Board seeking to acquire water rights to the Fastrill Reservoir in the refuge area. The reservoir, the parties have argued, would be needed in 50 years to supply water to Dallas. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which created the refuge in 2006, has said the reservoir proposed for the site is one of many water supply options available to Dallas Water Utilities. As of Tuesday afternoon, the City of Dallas had filed an emergency motion for injunction, pending appeal. It was unclear how that could effect the recent decision. The judge's decision is considered a victory not only for the refuge creator, but also for non-profit and advocacy groups supporting protection of the refuge.

New Mexico Efforts to Save Minnow in Rio Grande Showing Results

Rolf Schmidt-Petersen dug his oars into the muddy Rio Grande on a recent morning. Schmidt-Petersen's job as Rio Grande basin manager for the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission involves a lot of meetings and desk time and relatively few days on the water. On the river's east bank, Schmidt-Petersen and a group of colleagues pulled ashore to watch water the color of thin chocolate milk slip into a side channel dug through sandbanks two years ago. The commission is responsible for making sure there is enough water in the Rio Grande to meet New Mexico's legal obligations to deliver water to Texas, so the minnow's needs have become an important issue for the agency. This is minnow habitat, and all signs are that the minnows like it. The 15-foot-wide side channel, dug in 2006, is one of a string of efforts to slow down and spread out the Rio Grande a bit, to give the endangered Rio Grande silvery minnow some comfortable habitat. A coalition of state and federal agencies has spent some $5 million on habitat restoration in recent years in the Albuquerque stretch of the river. The fate of the minnow is a symptom of broader problems on the river. The Rio Grande once meandered a broad flood plain. Today, dams and levees have restricted it to a narrow channel, with water racing south rather than taking its time. "You've created a gun barrel effect," said Nic Medley, an ecologist with the Interstate Stream Commission. The gun barrel is still largely intact, with a narrow, deep channel carrying most of the water. But along the edges, workers have carved out shallow backwaters and small channels to give the minnow a tiny semblance of the old meandering Rio Grande. Preliminary fish counts this year in the new habitat areas suggest the project is working.

Hays County Commissioners Reject Plan to Duscharge Effluent into Creek Feeding the Edwards Aquifer and Barton Springs

An agreement that would have allowed a Hill Country subdivision to discharge treated effluent directly into a creek that feeds the Barton Springs part of the Edwards Aquifer has been dashed, at least for now, because Hays County commissioners rejected it.The commissioners voted 4-0 against a settlement agreement that would have allowed the water control and improvement district that oversees sewage operations for the Belterra subdivision to discharge treated water into Bear Creek.If the district is successful, it will be the first time a subdivision can discharge treated sewage into that part of the aquifer area.The decision illustrates how a sea change in the politics of the Hays County Commissioners Court two years ago is nibbling away at land use policy.

Utah River Patrol Saves Rafters from Rapids

A special Park Service patrol has disembarked from a staging area near the storied rapids in southeast Utah's Cataract Canyon. In recent weeks, the patrol rescued 30 rafters, three of whom required medical evacuations. There is still plenty of white water on the Colorado downstream from Moab, but the river has receded from the exceptionally high levels seen from late May to mid-June. The team, comprised of 46 rangers from Canyonlands, Arches and Glen Canyon national parks, establishes the camp below Cataract Canyon during high-water years when river flows exceed 50,000 cubic feet per second, according to spokesman Paul Henderson. Cataract Canyon includes 28 rapids along a 4-mile stretch about 15 miles downstream from Moab. "We have learned that it's easier to stage and be right there than try to respond from a distance during an emergency," Henderson said. The rangers undergo special training and use 18-foot jet boats to pull rafters from the rugged waters when boats flip or visitors fall overboard. Bob Jones, of Tag-A-Long Expeditions in Moab, said rapids were higher this year than they have been for the past six or seven years. "[The service is] appreciated by most outfitters," Jones said.

Caddo Mercury Study Surprises Lake Experts

A first-of-its-kind study at Caddo Lake shows mercury levels that rival saltwater bodies in other countries, an aquatic researcher said Tuesday. Early findings of a study of mercury in fish, plants and animals in the Caddo Lake watershed were presented before more than 60 lake stakeholders at the Jeffersonian Institute. State environmental regulators issued a fish advisory for Caddo Lake and its chief tributary, Big Cypress Creek, about a decade ago, asking residents to limit their fish consumption from the water bodies, according to Matt Chumchal, a Texas Christian University professor. It's the first time researchers have studied mercury levels in a freshwater system's food chain - a technique previously limited to saltwater bodies, Chumchal said. Species samples revealed high levels of mercury in snakes, raccoons and fish - animals near the top of the Caddo Lake food chain. The study also shows significant liver function damage among tested raccoons and snakes, he said. Average mercury concentrations in snakes at Caddo Lake were more than twice the rate of concentrations at many other East Texas lakes and higher than the maximum mercury concentration in snakes from several other states, Canada, Yugoslavia and other nations, he said. Most surprising were the locations along Caddo Lake with the highest mercury samples, Chumchal said. Mercury levels were higher in organisms found in the lake's western wetland-dominated areas, and the highest levels were found at Texas 43's bridge over Big Cypress Creek where it feeds into the lake.

About the River Systems Institute:

Texas State University in San Marcos established the International Institute for Sustainable Water Resources in January 2002 as a leadership initiative to coordinate and further university-wide efforts in the field of aquatic resource management. In 2005, it was renamed the River Systems Institute, reflecting a sharpened emphasis on the primary importance of river systems in the hydrologic cycle.

The Institute aims to promote a holistic approach to the management of river systems where key principles of sustainability and equitable use guide sound water policy. The mission of the River Systems Institute is to develop and promote programs and techniques for ensuring sustainable water resources for human needs, ecosystem health and economic development.

For questions about the newsletter, contact editor Carol Flake Chapman by email at cflake@earthlink.net or by phone at 512-263-9728. To contact the River Systems Institute at Texas State University-San Marcos, call 512-245-9200 or consult our Web site: http://rivers.txstate.edu.

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