· WHAT IS THE LAND AND WATER CONSERVATION FUND?
· WATER RIGHTS IN TEXAS
· BOERNE REACHES STAGE 3
· COMMUNITY GARDENS
· CALENDAR OF EVENTS
· FARMER’S MARKETS
Welcome to H2O To Grow, a newsletter from a San Antonio Native for local Rainwater Harvesting and Gardening Enthusiasts.
This has been one hot week, and the forecast is calling for triple digit temperatures the rest of this coming week.
During this time of drought and heat, don’t forget, your wildlife friends would love a drink of cool water too. If you have a bird bath, fill it, but place it in the shade. And if you live near some real wildlife; deer, armadillo, opossums, etc; go ahead and put a bowl of water out for them, because they are probably thirsty too.
WHAT IS THE LAND & WATER CONSERVATION FUND?
The Land & Water Conservation Fund is a program established by our Federal Government in 1964 that provides funds for the purchase of land (parks) and water (rivers & lakes).
The main purpose is to provide recreational areas for ALL citizens and to hold that land forever for that purpose. It gets its funding from leases/sale of federal property, park fees AND royalties from Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Drilling leases, such as the BP Gulf Oil drills.
But its roots go back 100 years earlier in the Yosemite Act of 1864 and the work of a pioneer, wildlife enthusiast, John Muir.
The Yosemite Act gave the Yosemite Cliffs and Mariposa Big Tree Grove, named for the Giant Sequoia trees, to the State of California with certain stipulations.
One stipulation being that, “upon the express conditions that the premises shall be held for public use, resort, and recreation; shall be inalienable for all time”.
And my favorite stipulation was, “the premises to be managed by the governor of the State with eight other commissioners, to be appointed by the executive of California, and WHO SHALL RECEIVE NO COMPENSATION FOR THEIR SERVICES.” This was meant to curb political maneuvering and corruption from entering into the management of National Parks.
The Yosemite Act of 1864 was an important concept, because until this time, only the rich could afford to buy and build on the beautiful wild places of the country. Just as the Kings of Europe had been doing for centuries. And in doing so, they made entire wildernesses private property and barred the public from even seeing them. Incredible foresight by our predecessors; and all this was occurring during the end of the Civil War of the United States.
Flash forward @ 100 years. President Dwight D. Eisenhower proposes to Congress the Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Act and is signed into law on June 28, 1958. This law states in summary; to guarantee enough outdoor recreation resources to “assure the spiritual, cultural, and physical benefits that such outdoor recreation provides” and to determine how many and where the parks will be. More effort would be spent on locations with more people visiting than say a pond in the middle of nowhere.
And they planned ahead, since this was 1958, the baby boomers were everywhere and suburban living was thriving. The Commission was planning for 1976, when the baby boomers would be in their 20’s and for 2000, when the baby boomers’ kids would be in their 20’s. But what they had not accomplished was the funding program for the Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Act.
Along comes John F. Kennedy who, on Valentine’s Day, 1963, submits the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act to Congress, which had bipartisan support. It was then signed into law on September 3rd, 1963. To be continued;
“The Nation needs a land acquisition program to preserve both prime Federal and State areas for outdoor recreation purposes. …In addition to the enhancement of spiritual, cultural, and physical values resulting from the preservation of these resources, the expenditures for their preservation are a sound financial investment. Public acquisition costs can become multiplied and even prohibitive with the passage of time.”
—President John F. Kennedy, in a letter accompanying draft legislation that proposed the creation of a Land and Water Conservation Fund.
WATER RIGHTS IN TEXAS
Our Texas House of Representatives passed HB2694 on April 20, 2011 by 109 “yeas & 40 “nays” & 1 absentee. Our Texas Senate passed HB2694 on May 12, 2011, by 31 “yeas” and 0 “nays”. (those 2 words always crack me up)
These changes in law will take effect September 1st, 2011 and apply to “the continuation and functions of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and abolishing the On-site Wastewater Treatment Research Council.”
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) was formerly known as the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC).
Reading this bill was a mind-numbing experience, but it’s worth it for all the information it gives.
There were many subjects, and I’ve provided links above to the original bill, but the theme I’m specifically focusing on this week is Article 5. Water Rights, Section 5.03, Subchapter B, Chapter 11, Section 11.053 “Emergency Order Concerning Water Rights”.
According to TCEQ’s website, “Use of surface water in the state of Texas requires a water right permit. Water rights are granted on a "first come—first served" basis. As there is a limited amount of water in any stream, there are limits to the amount of water which can be permitted for use.”
The Water Rights can now be suspended or diverted during times of drought or other emergency shortage of water.
But the Legislature has not yet determined the definition of a drought, the duration of suspension of water rights, or any appeals process. Why does this worry me?
Well, what happens IF/WHEN TCEQ determines that “other emergency shortage of water” is an oil/natural gas disaster that contaminated a river or a local water table.
Now, the only way they can save us (the public) from an EVEN BIGGER DISASTER is to divert water from clean water supplies to dilute the original contamination, further polluting our limited drinking water.
Perhaps my fears are rooted in the events of July 1st, 2011, Billings, MT, where an ExxonMobil pipeline ruptured and contaminated the Yellowstone River almost at its headwaters.
Or the June 4th, 2011 Penglai / ConocoPhilips oil spill that has polluted 1200 km2 of Northeast China’s Bohai Bay.
Or the September 9th, 2010 PG&E Natural Gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno, CA which left 4 dead and a 30’ crater.
Or the April 20th, 2010 Deepwater Horizon/BP oil spill that killed 11 men and is the LARGEST accidental marine oil spill in the history of the industry.
All of these incidents contaminated surface water and would constitute an “other emergency shortage of water”.
“The Nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets, which it must turn over to the next generation INCREASED, and not impaired, in value.” —President Theodore Roosevelt
COMMUNITY GARDENS
Visit one of these San Antonio Community Gardens to get inspiration and information on starting your home garden!
We will publicize 5 gardens per issue until we circle back to the beginning of all the community gardens in San Antonio.
Each Community Garden is unique and offers its own twist on the everyday vegetable gardening.
Many of these community gardens are part of Green Spaces Alliance Network of Community Gardens so please support this non-profit even if it’s just with an “atta boy’ for doing such a great job.
1. The Dinner Garden, Saatea Lounge Community Garden @ 741 W. Ashby Pl, 78212
2. International Community Garden @ St. Francis Episcopal Church, 4242 Bluemel, 78240
3. Mahncke Park Community Garden @ 315 Parland Pl, 78209
4. Roots of Change Organic Community Garden @ 1416 E Commerce, 78205
5. Jefferson Community Garden @ 2350 W. Gramercy Pl & Wilson, 78201
(I haven’t visited all the gardens yet, so if there are any changes to addresses or corrections, please e-mail me to update the information. Cesar@h2otogrow.co)
“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” ~Carl Jung
BOERNE REACHES STAGE 3
Boerne has achieved the status of reaching Stage 3 mandatory water conservation measures. And they are only about 30 miles away from San Antonio.
The City of Boerne Water Utility has asked it’s customers to begin following these new measures;
· Sprinklers only on your designated day between 3-8am or 8-10pm.
· Hand watering allowed anytime
· Vehicle washing only with bucket, no running water hoses
· Restaurants to serve water upon request
· No water use on sidewalks, driveways or any waste of water
But a major difference between Boerne and San Antonio is that they get their water from Boerne City Lake, nine groundwater wells and they purchase water from Canyon Lake thru the Guadalupe–Blanco River Authority.
We San Antonian’s rely mostly on the Edward’s Aquifer, but we also draw from Texas Lakes when necessary.
But why am I focusing on Boerne so much, you may ask? Well, it’s because their branches of city government are diminutive and not as convoluted and redundant as the Federal or State government agencies seem to be.
Therefore, Boerne is perfect to observe for any changes/issues which will ultimately affect San Antonio as well. And right now I’m observing that they are running out of water. When will it be San Antonio’s turn?
CALENDAR
· August 9th, 2011 (Fri) – 6:30pm - 8:30pm: Seed Swap: Green Spaces Alliance: Bring your own seeds to swap. Jardin del Sol Palacio del Sol Apt, 400 N Frio, 78207, – Cost: FREE
· August 11th, 2011 (Thur) – 6:00pm: Public Meeting on Potential Fee Rate Increase: Edwards Aquifer Authority: Edwards Aquifer Authority, 1615 N. St. Mary’s St, 78215 – Cost: FREE
· August 11th, 2011 (Thur) – 5pm Tickets / 7pm Movie: Free Movie Night (ET) yup, that ET!: Santikos Bijou Theatre, Wonderland of Americas – Cost: FREE
· August 13th, 2011 (Sat) – 9am – 12pm: Soil and Bed Preparation Work(ing) Shop: GSA, High Country Community Garden, 16418 Cypress Park, 78247 – Cost: FREE
· August 15th, 2011 (Mon) – 12pm – 3pm: Fall Gardening Tips & Recognizing Texas Invasive Plants: GVST, 1333 N. New Braunfels, next to Botanical Gardens – Cost: FREE ($5 donation preferred)
· August 26th, 2011 (Fri) – 7:30pm: Starlight Movies in the Garden (Some Like It Hot): Botanical Gardens, 555 Funston, 78209 – Cost: FREE
FARMER’S MARKETS
· Every Tuesday, 8am – 12pm - Main Plaza 115 Main Plaza, San Antonio, TX.
· Every Tuesday, 7:30am – 1pm – Olmos Basin 100 Jackson Keller, 78216
· Every Wednesday, 7:30am – 1pm – Leon Valley 6427 Evers Rd, 78238
· Every Wednesday, 8am – 1pm – St. Jude Church 130 S. San Augustine St., 78209
· Every Wednesday, 4pm – Pearl Brewery – Pearl Park parking lot (say that 3 times real fast!)
· Every Thursday, 8 am – 1pm – SA Botanical Gardens 555 Funston Pl, 78209
· Every Friday, 8am – 1pm – St. Matthew’s Church 11121 Wurzbach Rd, 78230
· Every Saturday, 7am – 11am - Bracken Farmer’s and Artisans Market 7561 E Evans Rd, 78266
· Every Saturday, 7:30am – 1pm - Olmos Basin 100 Jackson Keller, 78216
· Every Saturday, 9am – 1pm - Pearl Farmer’s Market – At Pearl Brewery along the banks of the San Antonio River.
For back issues of H2O To Grow Newsletters, simply send a request to Cesar@h2otogrow.co Please specify what month you are asking for.
VOL. # 1 ISSUE #10
FOR A FREE EVALUATION FOR RAIN WATER HARVESTING OR BOX GARDENING CONTACT: Cesar@h2otogrow.co
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