By Louis Zylka
The 830 Times
The second Southwest Water Coalition meeting was held at the Val Verde Public Library Nov. 1.
The Southwest Water Coalition works to bring together members of various organizations, agencies and governmental bodies to discuss solutions to current and future water issues in Val Verde County and the region.
The coalition is made up of members representing various organizations, including The Border Organization, the Del Rio Parks Foundation, the Devils River Conservancy, the Rotary Club of Del Rio and the city of Del Rio staff.
Gage Brown, representative of the Border Organization, started the meeting talking about the goals of the coalition, which include finding ways to educate themselves and the community on water conservation and connecting with experts to find solutions to water issues in Val Verde County.
“We’re coming together not as individuals, but as an institution that will give us power when approaching our elected officials or trying to change policies,” Brown told the group.
“We want to be prepared when it comes to public action and when the opportunity arises to build relationships with our elected officials so they know what we want and expect for our community,” she said.
The meeting followed an agenda with several items focusing on solutions and resources for people to learn about.
The first topic on the agenda was talking about the “State of the Devils River” Report, which was introduced by Romey Swanson, representative of the Devil Rivers Conservancy. Swanson said the report will gather data for creating solutions to preserve the Devils River.
Jake Carsten, director of trail development with the Del Rio Parks Foundation, talked about working with the city of Del Rio to get an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant for funding various projects to benefit the community. One of the proposed plans for the grant mentioned at the meeting was to purchase hydro panels from Source Global, which are designed to turn vapor from the atmosphere into usable water.
Romey then talked about the Land and Water Stewardship Summit, which will help gather data for the State of the Devils River report. He said the goal of the summit is to bring together landowners and experts involved in water and wildlife management to provide data for the report.
“It is important as a community, and I think it is important for Del Rio’s interests, to take into consideration the large impact on landowners and landowner interests. If we have their support, and you have a consensus within the community, you will make progress and barriers will be removed,” Swanson said.
The last topic on the meeting’s agenda was discussing Nature Conservancy programs. Julie Lewey, representative of the Nature Conservancy, talked about her organization’s plans to build programs for bridging funding from large operations such as Google and Facebook.
Throughout the meeting, other attendees asked questions and provided feedback. Randi Salazar, representative of the San Felipe Creek Coalition, said the group will have resources and information posted on its Facebook page.
Sandra Fuentes, co-chair of The Border Organization, proposed they could work with the city of Del Rio to borrow strategies used in other cities, such as San Antonio, to help deal with drought-related issues.
Del Rio Assistant Public Works Director Greg Velazquez was also in attendance. He gave updates on projects the city is working to include “native vegetation” in the San Felipe Creek area, and he also agreed with the importance of educating the community on water conservation.
The Southwest Water Coalition has planned its next meeting on Friday, Dec. 6.
