From the cover
Cleaning up the river
BY AMIRA VAN LEEUWEN
How we got here
What's next?
Two-minute impact
Beverage containers not allowed: These are examples of single-use beverage containers allowed and not allowed on the San Marcos River and adjacent city parks.
Case said the city currently uses a “three-prong” approach when it comes to abating litter. The rst is through “litter boats”—small vessels maintained by the Habitat Conservation Team—which is funded by the city and Texas State University as part of the Edwards Aquifer Conser- vation Plan. The second is city park personnel that educate patrons on park rules and to pick up litter. The third is a contractor that works weekends, holidays and summers to ll the gap when parks maintenance and ambassadors leave for the day. Case said that crews maintaining the litter boats were struggling with litter volume. “Our parks are so popular that we have a very hard time keeping up with any kind of abatement e orts,” she said. The city of San Marcos has two part-time park rangers and 11 deputy marshals. On Feb. 7, the city analyzed park personnel costs, but due to budgetary constraints, the city did not have the ability to hire additional deputy marshals or park personnel.
“We’re excited to be able to launch this campaign and protect our river, and make the experience of going to the river even better than what it already is,” she said. The education period will begin on May 1 and end on April 30, 2025. During this time, the city will focus on outreach strategies that educate residents and tourists on ordinance rules, boundaries and awareness through extra signage and utility billing inserts.
Lauren Surley, director of communications and intergovernmental relations, said the communications department will reach out to nonpro ts along with other community leaders in San Marcos and surrounding areas within a 50- mile radius of the city to spread the message. Surley said the department will launch its rst outreach campaign May 1—the day the ordinance goes into e ect.
“It’s going to come down to directional signage and delineations along our pathways,” Case said. In 2011, the city of New Braunfels passed a similar ordinance on rivers within the city’s limits. That ordinance was met with controversy and brought to the Texas Supreme Court before being reinstated in 2018, according to previous reporting by Community Impact . The San Marcos ordinance focuses primarily on single-use beverage containers, whereas the New Braunfels ordinance focuses on disposable food and beverage containers. Case said the decision to focus on single-use beverage containers was to alleviate “undue stress” for families that would have to gure out a way to be compliant with birthday cake containers or juice boxes. Tom Goynes, former president of the Texas Rivers Protection Association, said the organization had been “begging” the city to pass this kind of ordinance since New Braunfels passed theirs.
The ordinance identi es two types of areas known as “Go Zones” —areas where single-use beverage containers are allowed—or "No Zones" where only reusable beverage containers are allowed—along the river and in city parks adjacent to the river. There are ve areas—“Go Zones”— that will remain una ected by the ordinance: Children’s Park, City Park, Plaza Park, Ramon Lucio Park and Rio Vista. The following parks designated as “No Zones” are as follows: Bicentennial Park, Cape’s Dam, Hays County Veterans Memorial. Stokes Park. Thompson Island Dam, Veramendi Park, Wildlife Park and William & Eleanor Crook Park. Jamie Lee Case, director of parks and recreation, explained that there is no quanti able distance for residents to know when the ordinance is in e ect since their riverbanks vary in distance. The "No Zones" will have signage reminding individuals when the ordinance is in e ect, which is primarily along the riverbanks.
styrofoam or plastic
glass
metal or aluminum
Beverage containers allowed:
Community outreach
50% of funding comes from the city’s Hotel Tax Funds and will cover outreach outside of the 50-mile radius
50% of funding comes from American Rescue Plan Act monies and will be used for outreach inside city limits and 50 miles outside of city limits
The city is allocating $100,000 to be spent on community outreach e orts that promote the ordinance, which will include print, digital and park signage.
reusable jugs
reusable cups
reusable bottles
SOURCE: CITY OF SAN MARCOS COMMUNITY IMPACT
SAN MARCOS 510 Barnes Dr (512) 392-0366
CREEKSIDE TOWN CENTER 263 Creekside Crossing (830) 608-1969
SOUTHPARK MEADOWS 9900 IH-35 Service Rd S (512) 280-7400
NEW BRAUNFELS 1671 IH-35 S (830) 629-0434
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