I wanted to share this video. Even though I do not currently live in the Austin area, these waters are still close to my heart, and I want to do what I can to protect them. Notice the difference between the river above the water treatment discharge and the water below.
This video was taken by Jackson Cassady, from Gravity and the Dog: Tales Untangled. Stories Told.
There is obvious growth of algae that begins where the discharge enters the river. This algae not only changes the "look" of the river, but also impacts the flow. Algae can also have an impact on the river by preventing other plant growth that is vital to a well balanced river ecosystem. And, if the algae gets bad enough, can reduce oxygen levels in the water.
These conditions are made worse by the drought that we are in here in Texas, and increasing the amount of wastewater that will be dumped into the river will only compound the issue.
But algae is not the only issue that can arise from wastewater being dumped into the river. Watsewater can also still carry many chemicals that are dangerous to the fish, and to us! Many of these are the medications that we take. Treatment plants can not remove much of the drugs that we take, so they just get dumped into the river with the wastewater. Then, further downstream, the water gets pumped up for us to drink.
Anxiety and birth control drugs along with personal care products, such as soaps and antiperspirants, have all been linked to the health of our fish populations.
I know that there are regulations, and that the water they are dumping is supposed to be clean. However, these regulations are not always followed. I recently had a conversation with someone who works for the City of Austin wastewater. He had no idea that I cared about the water quality, etc., so he was more than willing to spill his beans to me. He said that it is commonplace for the water being dumped into the rivers to exceed the allowable levels in chemicals, and that nothing gets done about it. They will just fudge the reports and move on. His quote was, "They want us to get rid of the water, so we do. If it was more important to meet the regulations, then we wouldn't be able to get rid of the water."
Anyway, I know something has to be done with the wastewater, but lets step back and think of ways to fix the issue rather than just increasing the amount that we dump into our rivers.
If you are concerned about this as well, here is who to contact:
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
The Mayor and City Council of Liberty Hill
Related Articles:
Runoff in Our Rivers
The Importance of Current to Our Rivers and the Impact of Dams
So I want to let you know that people are working on this project. You are not alone in thinking that waste water is an issue in Texas. The entire state is semi-arid and for many streams near urban areas the only flowing water during the hot summer months are from waste water treatment facilities. While chemicals/human and veterinary pharmaceuticals present a long term issue (also being worked on- see links later), the major issue for wildlife and aquatic species health is the excess nutrients being dumped into the streams from WWTPs and confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs - think cattle yards or chicken and pig barns). Both WWTPs and CAFOs add to excess nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen) causing the algae blooms. Algae blooms in turn massively reduce the available oxygen killing or harming fish and other aquatic species that fish rely on for food. Other algae blooms produce toxins which actively kill fish (some of which are harmful to humans as well). The problem is that everybody want toilets that flush and hamburgers for dinner, which mean WWTPs and CAFOs. A number of cities and Universities are working to fix/mitigate many of these problems. Waco and Dallas have large constructed wetland projects which divert nutrient rich waters into wetlands, where the slower flows mean aquatic plants and other vegetation can more easily uptake excess nutrients and the water returning to the system is much cleaner. http://www.wetlandcenter.com/
ReplyDeletehttp://www.lakewacowetlands.com/home.html
Other folks are working on improving treatment technologies to reduce chemical and nutrient load. http://www.baylor.edu/BWRP/
Many people are also conducting research (including me) to understand the long-term biological effect of the many different chemical associated with WWTPs and CAFOs. The good news is that many of the chemicals detected are not harmful in the levels detected in the environment. (Also note that much scientific work has gone into the impact of these chemicals on drinking water and across almost every system tested the water coming out of the tap is cleaner and more chemical free than "bottled water"). I will step down from my scientific high horse to say I love fish and love fishing, which is why I am working to make the aquatic environment better. If you have any questions or would like to know more about research being done to understand the impacts of WWTPs and pharmaceuticals on fish and other aquatic species send me a note at FrozenPiranha@gmail.com
I'm not in Texas now but I wish I was. A job took me to Minnesota, where my kayak and rods are still dry till the ice melts off the lake. The fishing is good, but the water is cold. Cheers,
Jason Berninger, PhD
Ecotoxicologist and Friend of Fish
Nice. That is just the kind of information that I want to read! Thanks for reading, and thanks for filling in detail and blanks that I did not have in the article.
DeleteI have written about the chemicals from WWTP and CAFO's in the past, so I figured that I would bring some other issues to light as well in this article.
I love the idea of a "wetlands" project for WWTPs. As I was writing the article I was thinking to myself, "Why don't they do a giant grey water recycling system to for the WWTP discharge?" And then bam, you tell me about the "wetlands" which is pretty much the same exact thing!
Thanks!
Pat, thank you so much for the kind and thoughtful consideration. Putting the video together was an afterthought. I'd just shot some stuff to show my mother where the discharge was going into the river. By now I've sent the piece to city officials and staff, news and media, environmental protection organizations and service groups in the area. I'm unexpectedly excited that is has resonated with anyone. Honestly, I am all-too-new at this activism bit, but I'm feeling good about figuring it out as I go. Which leads me to...
ReplyDeleteJason, wow. Thank you for taking the time to put together that thoughtful and thorough response. I'm scrambling to gather and sort all the pertinent information I can to help the cause. I've been truly amazed by the generosity of so many passionate people such as yourself. I'm in Oregon so I can empathize with the distance factor. Though we're a lot warmer over here than back your way, the Texas spring is something to behold... especially on a pristine limestone river. I miss it now. I'd hate to miss it forever.
Thank you both for your kind efforts. I'll stay on it as I can. I haven't even had time to update my post with any more of the story. There has been quick and significant progress on several fronts. I'll stay on it as I can. Fish on. Cheers - Jackson
This article blew me away. I live near Liberty Hill and I find this completely appalling. I intend to write to the editor of the local newspaper and make a statement. Communicating with the council is nearly pointless. The current city council in LH is particular annoying right now. There is much intrigue over the current management of the water related systems. I had no idea that the bad management was having such a direct impact on our natural resources but it makes sense. If they don't manage the input, how can we expect them to manage the output?
ReplyDeleteI'm very glad there are people around like Jason and Jackson who are working to help cities clean up their act. I think this kind of thing needs to be talked about at every opportunity with the inhabitants of these small towns that think they are immune from higher law.
To clarify, I'm no environmentalist in the modern sense of the word. But I believe in the biblical principle of taking care of those things that God has given us. He commanded that we take dominion of the earth. He also commanded good stewardship. The combination of the two means we need to preserve our renewable resources. The idea of a renewable resource tells me that it is something that through negligence can be destroyed. And many people by nature tend to be negligent.
I often head out deeper into the hill country to a secluded spot. One of the reoccurring things that happens is that I end up picking up trash for other people. I've started carrying trash bags to pick up trash. I still have an old radiator that somone threw on the side of a secluded road in the middle of no where. If we all took responsibility for the trash in front of us, there wouldn't be a problem - including the waste water in Liberty Hill.
On the flip side, through this article I have discovered fishing the South San Gabriel. I've lived in LH for 6 years and have never fished the S. San Gabriel. I now realize what I was missing! The fishing has been great and serenity of the environment helps me forget the rat race.
Thank you for putting this article up for us to see. Hopefully I can be a small part of doing something about the garbage LH is dumping in our river.
-Mike