Toward a Watershed Solution

The River Walk Watershed is the area of land that drains most immediately into the historic River Walk loop and extension

RWWA Map

Topography and engineered structures in the River Walk Watershed both affect how water travels across the land and into the San Antonio River. The yellow line in the map above shows the watershed boundary based upon topography. The red line adds a 500-foot buffer to account for streets, side walks, gutters, and other infrastructure located beyond the watershed that may carry storm water, maintenance water, or other run-off into it.

The Surface Water Quality Standard for E. coli bacteria is 126 colony forming units per 100 milliliter of water. During the August 2006 – August 2007 planning year, the average conditions were 1513 colony forming units per 100 milliliters.

To address the elevated bacteria levels, the San Antonio River Authority submitted a grant application to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for a non-point source pollution grant offered through the Environmental Protection Agency and administered by TCEQ.

The grant goal was to reduce bacteria levels in the historic San Antonio River Walk loop and extension by 50%. The method was to take a round-table approach with people who live, work and/or recreate in the River Walk watershed to eliminate behaviors that lead to increased bacterial levels in the watershed. This approach is modeled upon the Environmental Protection Agency's Getting in Step watershed campaign method and was guided by the River Walk Watershed Alliance (RWWA).

The RWWA conducted outreach to River Walk Watershed businesses, residents, and visitors to gather their input on water quality, human activities, and other factors influencing E. coli bacteria levels in the watershed. Through input gathered from a phone survey, a mail-in survey, stakeholder meetings, and public meetings, the RWWA developed a series of best management practices to decrease E. coli levels in the watershed. The input also guided the RWWA in deciding how to distribute the best management practices messages to the target audiences.

For information on how your River Walk Watershed business, residence, or tourist destination can receive posters, brochures, table tents, a public service announcement, t-shirts, or other outreach tools, please contact the San Antonio River Authority.