Thankfully, the River Flows

by Jim Kimmel

 In 1840 Inspector General Hugh McLeod described the source of the San Marcos River to the president of the Republic of Texas, Mirabeau B. Lamar:

The springs rise along the foot of a mountain … Fairy Land cannot excel it in the beauty of its landscape, nor will the highlands of the Hudson compare with the bold, yet softened scenery of its mountain views.

Methodist Bishop Doggett in 1877 described the “…wild tresses of long and silken grass springing from its depths and floating in the current off for 20 or 30 feet…” Of course, this is what we now call Texas Wild Rice, an endangered species that we know grows only in the upper San Marcos.

The spring area that McLeod described has been changed but is undergoing a significant restoration. We may see a few beer cans in the river and Bikini Hill might shock the good bishop, but generally this wonderful river, flowing through the heart of our campus, retains the beauty it has had for millions of years. The water in the upper part of the river is clear, and the vegetation is rich and almost tropical looking. You can paddle a kayak in the early morning and experience solitude, or you can shoot the rapids at Rio Vista with a hundred of your new best friends.

The San Marcos has been through a lot of change since Spaniards Domingo Teran de los Rios and Father Damian Massanet first noted it in 1691. The river has endured periods of serious abuse and deterioration to emerge as a place of reverence. Today the river is probably in the best condition in the past 150 years, due to stringent regulations and the efforts of the City of San Marcos, the San Marcos River Foundation, Texas State University and thousands of students and local citizens who love the river.

Several recent events highlight the importance of the San Marcos River. First is the conversion of the Aquarena Springs amusement park into an educational and research center, owned by the university. Ralph the Swimming Pig, trained chickens, mermaids and the volcano are gone and missed by many, but the glass-bottom boats still carry thousands of visitors per year. Activities at Aquarena Center focus especially on school groups. The boat tours and other activities are geared to meet state educational requirements. Spring Lake is an outstanding example of special ecological and anthropological features, so the educational programs provide visitors important insights into the richness of the San Marcos River. Most of the guides are Texas State students, and their work at Aquarena Center is an important part of their professional training. To confirm its commitment to the San Marcos River, the university dedicated 33,108 acre feet of senior permit rights to the Texas Water Trust to help maintain flow in the river.

The old hotel building at the springs has been renovated and is now called the Texas Rivers Center. It offers a beautiful interpretive display on the first floor, plus offices and research space for the River Systems Institute, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the National Park Service Rivers and Trails Program.

The River Systems Institute is an especially important addition to Texas State University. It was initiated by the late President Jerome Supple. Supple commissioned Andrew Sansom to direct the institute. Sansom is one of the leading conservationists in the nation and was executive director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for 13 years. The goals of the River Systems Institute include research, environmental education, stewardship and service. In addition to its local focus on the San Marcos River, the Blanco River and Cypress Creek, the institute is currently conducting projects on the Rio Grande, the Pedernales River, the Brazos River and Galveston Bay.

To help ensure the integrity of the upper San Marcos River, the City of San Marcos recently purchased 251 acres of natural land that drain directly into the upper river. Intensive development, including a conference hotel, was proposed for this land. In wise negotiations, community leaders encouraged the hotel developer to build near the San Marcos Outlet Malls instead. A landslide bond vote by the citizens of San Marcos, plus donations by local families, Texas foundations and Texas Parks and Wildlife, helped secure the large tract of natural land to serve as a conservation preserve.

But another new project on the river has generated even more excitement — and fun! Engineers recognized that the old dam at Rio Vista Park was about to collapse. In record time the city completed a project to stabilize the dam and build a series of three Class II rapids. The area around the old dam is landscaped with huge boulders and looks like a natural rapids. On a summer day hundreds of “toobers” run the rapids again and again, and kayakers are there year round. In February the Olympic kayak trials were held at the falls, emphasizing that this is a seriously credible recreational and sports facility on the San Marcos. Fortunately, this activity has relatively few negative impacts on the river.

The San Marcos River, like all water sources, faces conflicting priorities represented by a variety of agencies and groups. Sometimes the conflicts are reconciled, other times they become points of contention. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service enforces the federal Endangered Species Act, which has the authority to protect the four endangered species in the San Marcos River. The primary threat to these species, and to the river, is the possibility of diminished flow from the Edwards Aquifer, the primary source of the San Marcos. The Edwards Aquifer is the major source of water for the San Antonio metropolitan area, as well as for irrigated agriculture. In 2007 the Texas Legislature passed new regulations that will allow an increased amount of water to be pumped from the aquifer. However, the same legislation established statutory limits on the amount of water that can be withdrawn from the aquifer during drought periods. The legislation also set into motion a process that will result in a Recovery Implementation Plan that has the potential to reconcile differences in priorities based on scientific knowledge and an open public decision-making process. Texas State is a major participant in this process. As the demand for water increases, the conflicts will become more pronounced, but rational processes are under way to help preserve the river.

Many former Texas State students remember the San Marcos River as a highlight of their student days. We can all be proud that the river is healthy, but we must all remain vigilant to ensure that it will always flow.

Jim Kimmel is professor of geography, Jones Professor of Southwestern Studies and author of The San Marcos: A River’s Story (Texas A&M University Press).

Who was Sewell, as in Sewell Park?

This favorite student recreation area, and one of the most beautiful spots on campus, is named for S.M. Sewell, affectionately known as “Froggy” for his love of the water and his daily plunge into the river.

Sewell was a math professor on campus from 1913 to 1941. For 22 of those years, he was also “director of activities” at Riverside Park. Sewell developed and promoted the popular annual Water Pageant and sponsored the Aquatic Club. After his retirement, he and his wife returned to their native Springfield, Mo., where he became a county surveyor. He died there in 1949 at age 81.

In 1916 the college had leased four acres of land west of the river from the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries. Workers with mud scrapers and mule teams cleaned the river and built up its banks, and by the summer of 1917 Southwest Texas State Normal School had its Riverside Park, which was named for Sewell in 1948.

A river runs through us

Throughout the history of the university, two things have remained constant – Old Main and the river. The San Marcos River has played a role — maybe an academic role but more likely a social or recreational role — in the lives of every student and faculty/staff member who has passed through here.

In 1899, when the university was founded, there was no Riverside (Sewell) Park. The river flowed from Spring Lake, which was formed by a dam that Gen. Ed Burleson built in 1849, and formed an island, now the east bank of Sewell Park between the river and Strahan. The river has changed through the years through efforts to enhance its beauty and user friendliness, and each generation has crafted its own bond with the water. Early students walked along the banks, picnicked on the island, fished in the river. In the early teens, students held their annual Hill and River Day along the river with folk dances, musical entertainment and skits. The Water Pageants came along in 1920 and grew from a swimming and diving exhibition to a river parade, concerts and plays that attracted thousands every summer for three decades. Today the river is the scene of New Student Orientation events, festivals ranging from Summerfest on the Fourth of July to Sights and Sounds of Christmas, concerts, and sunbathing by students almost year round.