San Marcos - Buda - Kyle Edition | February 2023

RESTORING THE WATERWAYS In 2022, conservation eorts to maintain the spring systems produced the following results to create a better habitat for protected species, such as the Texas blind salamander in the San Marcos. PROJECTS COMPLETED IN THE SAN MARCOS SPRINGS WATERWAY 6,892 square meters

The Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan began in 2013 with the goal of restoring the immediate aquatic habitats around each spring. These are some of the highlights from projects

completed in 2022. CONSERVATION ON THE SPRINGS

NEW BRAUNFELS

SAN MARCOS

LANDA LAKE: Native aquatic plants were reintroduced, and invasive species were removed to make room.

of nonnative aquatic vegetation removed

6,016 native aquatic plants reintroduced

SPRING LAKE: More than 1,100 cubic yards of invasive aquatic vegetation were removed by boat.

LANDA PARK

1,372 nonnative sh removed, totaling 1,438 pounds of biomass

R I

1,262 aquatic vegetation maintenance dives conducted by students and sta of Texas State University

SAN MARCOS RIVER

1,104 cubic yards of aquatic vegetation removed by boat in Spring Lake

DID YOU KNOW? The Comal Springs are the largest in Texas with seven major springs and dozens of smaller ones all located in Landa Park, lling Landa Lake.

DID YOU KNOW? There are more than 200 springs from three large ssures that make up the San Marcos Springs along with many smaller openings which ll Spring Lake.

SOURCES: EDWARDS AQUIFER AUTHORITY, CITY OF NEW BRAUNFELS, CITY OF SAN MARCOS, TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITYCOMMUNITY IMPACT

habitat for the fountain darter to have a more robust population even during low ow periods, Kollaus said. Aquatic vegetation restoration, the removal of invasive aquatic vegetation, the removal and control of nonnative sh species, litter removal and water quality protection are some of the measures that go into the habitat con- servation plan to ensure each unique ecosystem remains clean and useful. Maintaining the waterways For 2022, the EAA reported sig- nicant native aquatic vegetation restoration and invasive vegetation removal from both the Comal and San Marcos springs waterways. Thousands of native aquatic plants were reintroduced to the old channel, Landa Lake and Comal River in New Braunfels, increasing the natural hab- itat of the springs for the endangered species. Similar eorts were made in the Old Channel Restoration Reach. In addition to those restorative eorts, nonnative Hygrophila—an invasive species that chokes native wildlife—was removed from the Comal River system. Armored sailn catsh, tilapia and nutria were also removed. Nutria—the beaver-like large rodents that are native to South America and found along both waterways—are par- ticularly important to remove from

Marcos and San Antonio—acting by and through the San Antonio Water System; and Texas State University work collaboratively to enact the plan and partially fund it. Kollaus said those permittees on the habitat conservation plan have an overlaying goal of helping to provide optimal spring ow through conserva- tion and irrigation abatement eorts to provide a habitat for the survival of the species, as well as insure the river sys- tems remain adequate for recreation. All of the participating entities all somehow use the spring systems or the aquifer through pumping, so to counter what is taken away from the spring systems, each must partici- pate in the conservation eorts. “So that’s kind of like the whole justi- cation of why we have this [plan],” Kollaus said. The governing entities are also entered into an aquifer storage and recovery spring ow protection pro- gram, whereby a certain amount of water from the aquifer is reserved and stored away until the annual recharge of the aquifer averages above a 500,000 acre-feet threshold, accord- ing to the EAA.

the ecosystem, said Phillip Quast, watershed coordinator for the city of New Braunfels. “The nutria actually damage the habitat directly for the endangered species,” Quast said. As conservation eorts continue, those involved in the work are able to point to specic benchmarks that indicate what their next steps are in preservation, such as the reintroduc- tion of native Texas wild rice that is choked out by invasive plants. “We have already hit our goal for Texas wild rice expansion and pretty much every targeted section of river,” said Christopher Riggins, a research biologist and lead of the Meadows Center’s Habitat Field Crew at Texas State University. “We’re also about to reach our next goal [for 2024], which is the reduction of invasive species where it’s basically all bulk removal. Major patches and sections in the river have all been removed. So [we’re] just having to learn how to maintain that eort.” Tackling use and protection There are ve governing entities—or groundwater pumping permittees—to protect the groundwater resources of the Edwards Aquifer and its endan- gered species that inhabit it. The EAA; the cities of New Braunfels, San

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The EAHCP—or habitat conser- vation plan—is a cooperative eort bringing together multiple city, state and federal stakeholders to protect groundwater resources of the south- ern portion of the Edwards Aquifer, both for people in the region and the endangered species that inhabit the aquifer. The habitat conservation plan began in 2013 and runs through 2028, though the renewal permitting process has begun, according to the Edwards Aquifer Authority. During periods of low water ow and signicant drought events—such as the ongoing drought—eorts to remove invasive plants and animals from the waterways are ramped up to help in the survival of 11 protected species in those waterways, said Kristy Kollaus, a biologist and envi- ronmental scientist with the EAA. “For each particular species, we have certain habitat measures, either mitigation or improvement. So par- ticularly if we’re going to look at the fountain darter—which is found within both systems [the Comal and San Mar- cos springs]—you see a lot of people out there [making] eorts to remove non- native aquatic vegetation and replant with native aquatic vegetation,” Kol- laus said. These eorts should improve

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SAN MARCOS BUDA KYLE EDITION • FEBRUARY 2023