The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University has been awarded Clean Water Act funding on behalf of the Cypress Creek Watershed to continue implementation of the Cypress Creek Watershed Protection Plan.
The Plan, drafted by community stakeholders over a period of several years, was accepted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) in 2015.
While private funding and donated efforts from The Meadows Center have been used to begin implementing components of the plan since its approval, the $1.34 million project award, nearly $805,000 from federal funds and $537,000 in community and Texas State University resources, will support implementation activities over the next two and a half years to restore, protect and preserve water quality in Cypress Creek for present and future generations.
The Cypress Creek Watershed Protection Plan is the result of a 10-year collaboration between numerous groups and individuals working together to create partnerships, strategies and on-the-ground efforts to keep Cypress Creek clean, clear and flowing.
This Plan was the first in Texas to include a significant source water protection component. “It was important to this community to include groundwater protection in their plan because the health of the Creek is highly dependent on maintaining adequate spring flows,” Miller said.