San Antonio Recommended Plant List

I hadn't seen this before, but the city of San Antonio has a

Recommended Plant List -All Suited to Xeriscape Planting Methods

SAWS also has a list  used to qualify for landscape rebates.

Texas A&M's AgriLife has free Xeriscape book.

The San Antonio Chapter of the Texas Native Plant Society recommends these books:

Recommended Books on Native Texas Plants

These are a few of the many good books written about native Texas plants. Most of these books are commonly available at bookstores, libraries, and online sources.

How to Grow Native Plants of Texas and the Southwest, Revised and Updated Ed.,  by Jill Nokes, Univ. of Texas Press, 2001.

Landscaping with Native Plants of Texas, by George Oxford Miller, MBI Publishing Co., 2006.

Native Plants in Landscaping: Trees, Shrubs, Cacti and Grasses of the Texas Desert and Mountains, by A. Michael and Shirley A. Powell, Iron Mountain Press, 2005.

Native Texas Plants: Landscaping Region by Region, Second Edition, by Sally & Andy Wasowski, Gulf Publishing, Co., 1997.

Texas Wildscapes: Gardening for Wildlife, by Noreen Damude & Kelly Conrad Bender, Texas Parks & Wildlife Press, 1999.

Texas Trees: A Friendly Guide, by Paul W. Cox and Patty Leslie, Corona Publishing Co., 1988.

100 Texas Wildflowers, by Dorothy Barid Mattiza, Western National Parks Assn., Tucson, AZ, 1993.

Edwards Aquifer Protection Program

http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/compliance/field_ops/eapp/program.html

"Anyone who plans to build on the recharge, transition, or contributing zones of the Edwards Aquifer must first have an application including construction plans approved by the TCEQ. Personnel from the Edwards Aquifer Protection Program review these plans. If a plan is approved, the site is monitored for compliance."

Includes spreadsheet to calculate TSS.  Might be useful for quantifying advantages of our proposals?  Or sizing BMPs in our designs?

2007 Texas State Water Plan

2007 Texas State Water Plan
http://www.twdb.state.tx.us/wrpi/swp/swp.asp


Has some really good background info on Texas climate, water, etc.


@Chapter 2 (Regional Summaries) provides graphics, tables, and text summarizing results for each planning area.

@ Chapter 3 (Fifty Years of Water Planning in Texas) presents the general history of state water planning in Texas, including how water management strategies and the planning process have evolved over the past 50 years, and discusses the implementation status of water management strategies recommended in the 2002 State Water Plan.

@ Chapter 4 (Population and Water Demand Projections) summarizes the methodology and results for population and water demand projections, including discussions of how different economic sectors use water.

@ Chapter 5 (Climate of Texas) discusses the climate of Texas, including general rainfall patterns and information on the frequency and magnitude of drought in the state.

@ Chapter 6 (Surface Water Resources) presents detailed information on the state’s surface water resources and includes estimates of available and existing surface water.

@ Chapter 7 (Groundwater Resources) presents detailed information on the state’s groundwater resources and includes estimates of available and existing groundwater.

@ Chapter 8 (Water Reuse) discusses water reuse in Texas, including projections of existing water supplies generated by this practice.

@ Chapter 9 (Water Supply Needs) summarizes water supply needs for different water users in the state during drought conditions and the potential socioeconomic impacts of not addressing water supply needs.

@ Chapter 10 (Water Management Strategies) discusses water management strategies recommended by planning groups and the volume and costs associated with these strategies.

@ Chapter 11 (Plan Implementation Funding) summarizes implementation costs of the 2007 State Water Plan, including statewide and regional cost estimates for water supply, water distribution and transmission infrastructure, wastewater treatment, and flood control.

@ Chapter 12 (Challenges and Uncertainties in Water Supply Planning) analyzes the challenges and uncertainties, such as changing conditions, natural or human disasters, and policy and legislative impacts, that affect regional and state water planning.

@ Chapter 13 (Planning Group Policy Recommendations) presents the range of policy issues and recommendations identified by planning groups.

New Report: Sprayed Away: Seven Ways to Reduce Texas' Outdoor Water Use

Sprayed Away: Seven Ways to Reduce Texas' Outdoor Water Use.  July 2010.
http://www.texaswatermatters.org/pdfs/sprayed%20away_report.pdf


The National Wildlife Federation and the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club released a joint report on 18 Texas cities (incl Austin + San Antonio)

The report recommends seven efficiency measures that have a proven track report at reducing landscaping water use. Not very in depth but gives some good background info about Texas.  The measures include:

Improving Automatic Irrigation Systems: Irrigation systems are becoming increasingly common in Texas. The American Water Works Association estimates that homes with in-ground irrigation systems use 35% more water than homes without irrigation systems. Many of these systems are not designed or installed correctly-staff at the Austin Water Utility report water waste of 20% to 50% from poor system design. The report recommends that cities should take steps to make sure that these systems are as efficient as possible by offering free system audits and rebates on upgrades such as rain sensors.

Rethinking the Lawn: Over the past five years, permits for close to 600,000 new single family homes have been issued in Texas. Decisions made today about the types of lawns and landscapes to install in new developments have the potential to influence water use for decades to come. Smaller areas of turfgrass and the use of drought-resistant grasses can make a big contribution to reducing water use. Unfortunately, with only a few notable exceptions, Texas cities are currently doing little to guide new developments in this way.

Landscaping Rebates: Cities across the country have created programs paying customers to replace their turfgrass with more water-efficient landscaping. These programs are becoming more common in Texas, with entities such as the City of Pflugerville, San Antonio Water System and BexarMet Water District offering rebate programs. To ensure that customers learn new watering habits, the report recommends that utilities should make payment of rebates contingent on customers actually reducing their water use.

Rainwater Harvesting: Capturing rainwater has real potential as a source of water for Texas. A report published by the Texas Water Development Board estimated that a metropolitan area the size of Dallas could capture roughly 2 billion gallons of water annually if just 10 percent of the roof area was used to harvest rainwater. Although several Texas cities currently offer rebates on rain barrels, this source of water is currently seriously underutilized.

Rate Structures: A strongly tiered rate structure is the most equitable way to price water. Most residential customers use limited amounts of water, placing smaller demands on the system, and should pay less per unit of water as a result. For example, the San Antonio Water System has found that about 80% of their residential customers do not see any significant rise in their bills during the summertime. This indicates that the 30% bump in total water use that San Antonio sees during the summertime is primarily caused by a small portion of the utility's customers. However, heavy users in most cities usually pay little more-and often less-per thousand gallons than frugal water users.

Liquid Assets: The State of Texas’ Water Resources

Liquid Assets: The State of Texas’ Water Resources
www.window.state.tx.us/specialrpt/water


Comptroller Susan Combs Says Future Water Shortages
Threaten Texas’ Way of Life

"Combs released a new report, Liquid Assets: The State of Texas’ Water Resources, examining Texas’ current and future water resources, the practical and policy barriers facing local and statewide water planners and possible funding mechanisms that could be tapped to develop Texas’ water resources. The report also looks at the progress made by Texas’ 16 regional water planning groups and the challenges those groups face in addressing their water needs.

Groundwater provides 59 percent of Texas’ available fresh water, surface water provides approximately 40 percent and the remaining 1 percent is made up of reused ground and surface water. Both sources are dwindling — groundwater due to over-pumping and surface water due to sediment accumulation in reservoirs. Liquid Assets: The State of Texas’ Water Resources reports Texas currently does not have enough water to fulfill all of its estimated future needs. Without new management and conservation measures, in the event of a drought, water needs could increase from 3.7 million acre-feet in 2010 to 8.8 million acre-feet in 2060. If Texas were to see a drought-of-record, up to 85 percent of the population in 2060 could experience water shortages."

Article on SA River Walk

Article in Texas Highways

I will bring the magazine into the studio, we need to start claiming some wallspace in the studio.

Central Texas Greenprint for Growth

Central Texas Greenprint for Growth

"The Central Texas Greenprint for Growth is a tool for balancing sustainable conservation goals with the infrastructure needs of our rapidly urbanizing region. The process combines community stakeholder input about conservation goals and priorities with Geographic Information Systems mapping and modeling technology to produce graphic illustrations highlighting opportunity areas for conservation that meet multiple goals. For the complete Central Texas Greenprint for Growth Report please visit our Publications page."

Go to interactive online map
Go to GIS data downloads

Texas Ecological Assessment Protocol (TEAP) Report

Texas Ecological Assessment Protocol (TEAP) Report (EPA 906-C-05-001)


findings:  some of the areas that have high or moderately high ecologically important areas are the Edwards Plateau

The Texas Ecological Assessment Protocol (TEAP) relies on a previously developed methodology and consists of collecting and analyzing existing electronic data available statewide, which was used to evaluate the following three ecological criteria:
1. Diversity
2. Rarity
3. Sustainability
What areas have the most diverse land cover? What areas have the highest number of rare species and land cover types? What areas can sustain ecosystems now and in the future?

Looks like might include GIS data as zip file

Texas River Basins map

http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/assets/public/gis/images/basins.gif

Texas planning/zoning laws

Mickelson, Kimberly. 2006. "Texas Legal" Planning February 2006. pp.46-49.

What regulations there are, are done by cities

• 254 counties in TX!
• In TX, counties have v little planning authority (only 12/254 counties have). They do have platting authority, but that often controlled by cities.
• Virtually all regulatory authority is by cities. But most of the state is unicorporated so therefore not much regulation.
• Historically, little emphasis on comprehensive planning in the state.
• Municipal comprehensive plans can be carved in stone or flexible.

Planning less strict than other states because republicans and:
1. Private Real Property Rights Preservation Act or "takings statute"

• Any government entity considering new regulations that would reduce a property's value by 25% or more must file a Takings Impact Analysis (TIA)

2. Vested Rights Law

• Ordinance changes can't be applied to projects after first permit applied for.
• Cities can't change zoning of property or apply new regulations relating to landscaping or architectural standards to developments in progress.

Other issues:
Influence of developers and private property rights
Cities can annex land