25 Sources

Sources:

1.      Upper San Marcos Water Protection Plan – A brief description of the Water Protection Plan for the San Marcos Watershed.

2.      Groundwater Management Plan by Edwards Aquifer Authority – A detailed plan by the authoritative body of the Edwards Aquifer of how they want to maintain the Edwards Aquifer. It has good data, and also contains some projections of what water usage will look like if growth continues as expected.

3.      U.S. Census 15 fastest-growing cities – the official press release by the U.S. Census Bureau that lists San Marcos as the fastest growing city with 50,000 + population. May 2014

4.      An article about construction pollution – An article on a conservationist site -- http://www.sustainablebuild.co.uk/ -- that a contact sent me. It explains the different ways that construction causes pollution. The site itself has a lot of information about sustainable building methods. Aug. 20, 2014

5.      San Marcos River Foundation – The SMRF is one of the leaders in terms of preservation efforts for the San Marcos River. There is a lot of good information on the site about local efforts to preserve the environmentally sensitive area.

6.      Great Edwards Aquifer Alliance – There are links to several documents pertaining to pollution in the Edwards Aquifer.

7.      Texas Commission on Environmental Quality -- The website for the state’s governing body on the environment. It’s a good site to find information for environmental topics in Texas.

8.      Reports on San Marcos River Watershed – An exhaustive list of links to documents pertaining to the San Marcos River Watershed.

9.      The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment – One of the leaders in the community for river conservation. There is contact list on the web site for those who work at the Meadows Center, and they are the best to contact first when beginning research on the issue.

10.  33 Impacts of Construction and the Built Environment – One of my sources sent me a PDF of this document, and I found this link for it. It’s good information to have when researching the environmental effects of building construction.

11.  History of San Marcos Springs – The history of San Marcos Springs, as told by an informative site on the Edwards Aquifer. It’s good background information for putting the importance of the San Marcos River -- in terms of economic impact – in context with why we should protect it.

12.  Upper San Marcos River WPP – A slideshow presentation about the San Marcos River Watershed Initiative’s plans for the next five to 10 years. Mary Van Zant’s contact information is on the last slide, and she is a good source to talk to about river conservation efforts.

13.  Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority – Another regulatory body that does work with San Marcos River conservation groups, such as the San Marcos River Watershed Initiative. It has listings of the current conditions of springs and rivers in the GBRA’s domain on the home page.

14.  Habit Conservation Plan Brings Changes to San Marcos River -- KVUE – An article and video by Austin’ ABC affiliate about the HCP and the changes that it has brought to the river. July 20, 2014

15.  San Marcos Will Soon Adopt Stage 4 Water Restrictions -- Fox 7 – A news report about the Stage 4 drought that has affected the San Marcos River. It gives a good explanations about the Stage 4 restrictions.

16.  Maps of San Marcos River Restoration and Mitigation – A series of maps by the Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan that highlight the areas of restoration along the San Marcos River.

17.  City of San Marcos Water/Wastewater Utility – Another good website to find contacts on the subject.

18.  San Marcos River Wildlife Management Association – This is where I would start when trying to research the effects of growth on local wildlife.

19.  Current Construction Projects in San Marcos – This is where I found my numbers on road construction currently under way in San Marcos. There are links in the sidebar to individual web pages with more detailed information on road construction projects.

20.  John Gleason: he is a contractor for the City of San Marcos and the Nature Center of San Marcos who specializes in conservation efforts in the city’s designated protection areas. His contact info:

e-mail: JohnGleasonRLA@gmail.com

phone: (512) 775-2884

21.  Melani Howard: she works at the Nature Center in San Marcos and is has a large role in conservation efforts around the San Marcos Watershed.

22.  I have a slide show presentation that Gleason gave me that highlights the proposals that the Water Quality Protection Plan Consulting Team has made to the City of San Marcos and Texas State. It has three maps that explain the areas that the WQPP currently regulate, propose to regulate and a proposal for downtown areas that the WQPP wants to vertically develop. It’s good information, so ask me if you want to see it.

23.  Meredith Miller is a program coordinator at the Meadows Center, and she is the first person I spoke to when researching growth’s impact on San Marcos’ environment. Miller is a good source of information on water conservation subjects and can put you in contact with other people as well. The easy way to reach is through email. mbmiller@txstate.edu
24.  Dianne Wassenich is a program director at the San Marcos River Foundation. You can reach her by e-mail (wassenich@grandecom.net) or phone (512-353-4628). If you can’t reach her at that number, her cell number is given on the voice mail message.

25.  Mark L. Carter is a professor at Texas State. I haven’t been able to do a face-to-face interview with him, but he promptly responds to e-mails and has sent a lot of great information my way. My suggestion is to have specific questions for him so he knows exactly what information to find. His e-mail is mc12@txstate.edu