Arroyo Colorado steering committee meets July 22 in Weslaco

Arroyo Colorado steering committee meets July 22 in Weslaco

WESLACO — The Arroyo Colorado Watershed Partnership steering committee will meet July 22 in Weslaco to discuss efforts to implement the Arroyo Colorado Watershed Protection Plan and to sustain the partnership, according to an official with the Texas Water Resources Institute.

Watershed coordinator Jaime Flores said the meeting, which is open to the public, will be from 5-7 p.m. at the Estero Llano Grande World Birding Center, 3310 S. Farm-to-Market 1015 in Weslaco.

“Part of the long-term sustainability of the Arroyo Colorado Watershed Partnership will have to include local support from the public and private sectors of the Rio Grande Valley,” Flores said.

“We’ll be discussing options for that sustainability.”

The partnership is a group of about 700 area citizens and other individuals representing federal, state and private organizations.

It is currently administered by the Texas Water Resources Institute in cooperation with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board.

The institute, located in College Station, is part of Texas AgriLife Research, Texas AgriLife Extension Service and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

“This partnership and watershed protection plan must be an ongoing team effort of everyone coming together to solve the water quality issues of the arroyo,” said Kevin Wagner, the institute’s associate director.

The Arroyo Colorado runs 90 miles from Mission to the Lower Laguna Madre, is adjacent to the Gulf Coast and is the primary sources of fresh water to the Lower Laguna Madre.

The estuary along the lower 25 miles of the arroyo is an important natural nursery for many fish, crab and shrimp species, Flores said.

Larry Thomas from the U.S. Geological Survey will discuss the agency’s monitoring capabilities for the watershed.

After the steering committee meeting, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality will host a public meeting to gather information for a recreational-use survey for the Arroyo Colorado. The purpose of the survey is to determine actual and potential recreational uses in the arroyo and, if necessary, to assign a more appropriate use, Flores said.

The water institute is currently coordinating six projects directed at carrying out the watershed protection plan and restoring the arroyo. The projects are funded by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Texas General Land Office, Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Several projects are funded through EPA’s Clean Water Act Section 319(h) grant program.

For more information on the meeting, contact Flores at 956-968-5581 or jiflores@ag.tamu.edu.

For information on the partnership and its work, visit its website at http://www.arroyocolorado.org.