TEXAS AGRILIFE EXTENSION TO ADDRESS MILL CREEK WATER ISSUES
The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board are inviting area residents to partner with them in addressing water quality issues in Mill Creek.
A meeting to address area water quality and availability issues, including the formation of the Mill Creek Watershed Partnership, will be held Jan. 26 at the Bleiberville Volunteer Fire Department located at 3342 Farm-to-Market 2502 in Bleiberville.
Registration and refreshments will begin at 5:30 pm with presentations from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.
Among the subjects to be discussed will be discussion and selections of steering committee members, watershed partnership ground rules, water quality protection planning, potential sources of watershed pollution, and a question-and-answer session.
Mill Creek is formed by two branches, the creek’s east and west forks, in southeast Washington County. The forks unite near Bellville in Austin County to form the main stem. The 400-square-mile Mill Creek watershed was identified for watershed protection plan development due to concerns about high levels of bacteria. The 2012 Texas Integrated Report of Surface Water Quality published by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality showed Mill Creek had elevated levels of bacteria.
Mill Creek has been monitored by the commission since 1974 as part of the state’s Clean Rivers Program.
For more information or to preregister for this meeting, go to http://millcreek.tamu.edu, or contact Galen Rogers at 979-862-8070, or groberts@ag.tamu.edu. You may also contact the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service of Austin County http://austin.agrilife.org or by calling (979) 865-2072.