Recent Water Resources
Explore Recent Water Resources
The goal of the Spring Water Revival is not just to celebrate our clear and flowing Hill Country waters, but also to educate community members about their local water resources and highlight ways to get involved. Below, we have compiled recent – and timeless – water-related resources for folks across the Hill Country.
Have a resource you would like for us to add? Contact marisa@hillcountryalliance.org.
Pristine Streams
Clean, clear pristine rivers and streams in Texas support the state’s vibrant tourism and recreation-based economies and contribute known value to the lands that surround them, both public and private. Wastewater is the last thing we need in our remaining pristine streams.
Currently, advocates are working on a strategy to change the rules at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), the entity in charge of overseeing environmental regulations. With a new rule in place to protect the specified stream segments, applicants who once may have sought a wastewater discharge permit will be directed to apply for a Texas Land Application Permit (TLAP) and to consider the addition of a Chapter 210 Reuse Authorization for one or more other beneficial uses.
Riparian Areas: Where Land Meets Water
An easy way to keep Hill Country streams clean and flowing is to use simple riparian management techniques. A riparian area is often described as the “river bank” but in reality it is much more. The riparian area is the interface between land and water along a body of water. It includes the vegetation, soils and features from the water’s edge across the flood plain to the upland area. Typically, the best approach for managing this system is to do nothing, observe and let nature do the work.
Learn more about how good riparian stewardship benefits water quality by watching these videos from the Hill Country Alliance and our partners at Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Healthy Creeks Initiative and the Hays County Master Naturalists.
Investing in Water Infrastructure
The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) has an additional $2.9 billion to invest in water infrastructure across the state thanks for special federal legislation that passed in 2021. HCA co-wrote a paper with Texas Living Waters Project on what that means for Hill Country communities seeking investments in their water infrastructure.
Learn more at https://bit.ly/SRFInvest23 or by watching the 2-minute highlight video below.
Additional Water Resources from our Partners
Read on and click around for events, activities, news, and a gazillion ways to safeguard and celebrate water all month long.
Spring Water Revival is a Hill Country Alliance event.
The Hill Country Alliance is a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to raise public awareness and build community support around the need to preserve the natural resources and heritage of the Central Texas Hill Country.