A Lone Star Healthy Streams workshop is planned for Nov. 9 for residents of the Mill Creek watershed.
The free program will be from 1-5 p.m. and will be offered virtually as well as in person at the Bleiblerville Volunteer Fire Department, 3912 Farm-to-Market Road 2505, Bellville.
The workshop will focus specifically on issues within the Mill Creek watershed and its watershed protection plan. A watershed protection plan is a coordinated framework for implementing prioritized and integrated water quality protection and restoration strategies driven by environmental objectives.
Preregister for the workshop at https://tx.ag/LSHS9NovBellville or call the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service office in Austin County at 979-865-2072.
Three Texas Department of Agriculture general continuing education credits will be provided for certified pesticide applicators.
About Lone Star Healthy Streams workshops
The Lone Star Healthy Streams program aims to educate Texas livestock producers and landowners on how to best protect Texas waterways from bacterial contamination associated with livestock production and feral hogs, said Leanne Wiley, AgriLife Extension program specialist, Bryan-College Station.
“Bacteria are the leading cause of water pollution in the state of Texas,” said Larry Redmon, Ph.D., professor and associate department head of the Department of Soil and Crop Science. “When found in rivers, streams, lakes, ponds and other water bodies, fecal bacteria serve as indicator species for the presence of pathogenic bacteria, viruses or parasites, which can cause waterborne illnesses, including typhoid fever, dysentery and cholera.”
Currently, about 300 Texas water bodies do not comply with state water quality standards established for E. coli bacteria, Wiley said. By participating in this workshop, livestock producers and landowners will learn specific conservation practices that can be implemented to help minimize bacterial contamination in Texas water bodies.
Funding for this project is provided through a Clean Water Act Section 319 Nonpoint Source Grant from the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board and the U.S Environmental Protection Agency.
For more information on the Lone Star Healthy Streams program, go to lshs.tamu.edu/.
For more information on the workshop, contact Stacie Villarreal, AgriLife Extension county agent, Austin County, at 979-865-2072 or [email protected]; Wiley at 979-318-2617 or [email protected]; or Evgenia Spears, AgriLife Extension program specialist, at 979-845-2862 or [email protected].
For more information on the Mill Creek Watershed and its watershed protection plan, go to https://millcreek.tamu.edu.
