Plant a riparian buffer to stabilize the eroding bank, site 3, Children's Park (public city park), 205 S CM Allen Pkwy, San Marcos, TX 78666, Hays County (2026-08-04)

The survey above found bare, eroding soil along this Children's Park riverbank, and hand-planted native riparian cover would otherwise leave this stretch shedding soil into the San Marcos River another season. Standard: USDA NRCS conservation practice standard 580 streambank and shoreline protection, applied here to public river-access-point banks along the upper San Marcos River downstream of the springs, Hays County, TX, dry-bank work only. SDG 6.6 and 15.1. Proof: before after photos plus species and plant count record plus GPS Method (USDA NRCS conservation practice standard 580 streambank and shoreline protection, applied here to public river-access-point banks along the upper San Marcos River downstream of the springs, Hays County, TX, dry-bank work only. SDG 6.6 and 15.1.): 1. 1. Confirm the stretch with parks staff and photograph the eroding bank before starting, from the same vantage used in the survey. 2. 2. Working only on the dry bank above the waterline, never entering the water, hand dig planting holes with hand tools only in the soil pockets along the bank. 3. 3. Hand plant native riparian grasses, shrubs, and forbs at the design spacing to hold soil and filter runoff before it reaches the river. 4. 4. Hand mulch around the new plantings and photograph the stabilized stretch from the matching before vantage, recording species and count. Done when: Before photo of the bare, eroding bank; Confirmation work stayed on the dry bank above the waterline, never entering the water; Native riparian species and plant count recorded; After photo of the stabilized stretch from the matching vantage

Where

Children's Park (public city park), 205 S CM Allen Pkwy, San Marcos, TX 78666, Hays County

Pay

$175 proposed

This packet is not funded yet, so this figure is a proposed price and not money waiting in escrow. If a buyer funds it, approved proof settles that price onchain. If nobody funds it, approved proof earns provable credit toward the work instead of cash. You see which before you claim, never after.

Proof

before after photos plus species and plant count record plus GPS

This is exactly what gets it approved. Nothing settles without it.

Level

intermediate

Open until

2026-09-03

How this work is done

A documented method, so this packet comes out the same whoever does it. Typically 30–60 minutes. Method of record: EPA dry-weather / AMD field screening

Bring

• GPS phone
• pH meter or strips
• conductivity meter
• ammonia + iron test kit as specified
• surfactant screen if specified
• gloves
• camera

Steps

1. 1. Navigate to the outfall/reach; record GPS; photograph it, capturing any visible flow or staining.
2. 2. Note whether flow is present in dry weather (yes/no).
3. 3. Measure and record pH, conductivity, and each specified analyte per kit instructions.
4. 4. Log any color, odor, floc, or aquatic-life observation.
5. 5. Enter all readings with units, GPS, time, and photos into the proof record; sign.

If it does not match the plan

• Dry-weather flow present with elevated conductivity/ammonia/surfactants -> flag suspected illicit discharge for the responsible agency.
• pH < 6 with visible iron floc -> tag suspected acid mine drainage; recommend metals lab panel.

What counts as done

• Before photo of the bare, eroding bank
• Confirmation work stayed on the dry bank above the waterline, never entering the water
• Native riparian species and plant count recorded
• After photo of the stabilized stretch from the matching vantage

Proof is measured against these, not judged by taste.

The standard this serves

Watershed Health. A watershed is everything the land pours into a stream, and the stream keeps the record. The EPA's bioassessment method reads that record through the small creatures living in the gravel: mayflies and caddisflies mean clean water, only worms and midges mean trouble. Mastery looks like a person who can wade one riffle with a net and tell you how the whole valley is doing. That skill is built sample by sample. This packet is one of them: one site, one careful count, one entry in the long record of a stream.