River Health ~ San Antonio River Authority

There are many ways to determine the health of a river. The scientists at the River Authority are experts in understanding and caring for the San Antonio River as well as its creeks and tributaries. Learn how our Water Quality Scientists, Aquatic Biologists, Stormwater Scientists and Environmental Investigators are monitoring and improving river health every day.

The San Antonio River Authority and its scientists perform water quality monitoring, biological and habitat assessments throughout the San Antonio River Basin to keep tabs on the condition of this important ecoregion.

San Antonio River Watershed Water Quality Viewer

Learn More About River Health

What Makes a River Unhealthy?

You might be asking yourself, what human activities degrade our river’s health and why are those threats important? Well, thank you for asking, and you’ve come to the right place to find out!

Threats to the San Antonio River

Trash collecting along river edge — The threats to the health of the San Antonio River are mounting as our city grows.

San Antonio river Watersheds — Bexar, Wilson, Karnes, and Goliad counties have many watersheds that drain to creeks or rivers, but all of them eventually flow into the San Antonio River.

Trash flowing down flooded street — Stormwater runoff is rainfall that has fallen onto hardened surfaces, such as streets, roofs, compacted ground, and driveways, and then picked up the various pollutants that are on those surfaces and carried them into the storm drain and stream systems. Those pollutants include, but are not limited to: oil, fertilizers, bacteria, heavy metals, gasoline, and sediment.

Protect Your River Walk — Did you know that, in San Antonio, stormwater does not drain into a sanitary sewer system to be cleaned; it flows directly into our creeks and rivers, untreated, through a network of streets and storm drains?

Dead fish piled up — Polluted water in the San Antonio River harms more than just fish and wildlife in our local area. Runoff from our watersheds flows all the way to San Antonio Bay. Thus, water from the San Antonio River has direct impacts on the health of wildlife in the bay and the Gulf of Mexico.

Ecologists releasing fish fry into river — But there is hope! The San Antonio River Authority is committed to reducing the polluted stormwater & runoff that drains into our creeks and rivers. Improved water quality allowed for the release of juvenile Guadalupe Bass into the river.

Rainwater running into sewer — To do that, the River Authority utilizes and recommends Low Impact Development (LID). LID is a sustainable land planning and engineering design approach to managing stormwater runoff as close as possible to the source. This emphasizes the use of on-site natural drainage features, maintains or enhances the site's hydrologic characteristics after development, reduces overall imperviousness, and polishes stormwater for quality

Bioswale during rain — Examples of LID features, also known as Best Management Practices (BMPs) are Cisterns and Bioretention.

Volunteers collecting trash along river bank — There are several key components of a sustainable watershed, and these components are not mutually exclusive. – They all work together to create a healthy watershed. And, there are human behaviors that have positive impacts on the river’s health and others that impact rivers negatively.

Is the San Antonio River Healthy?

Aquatic Biologists and Stormwater Scientists at the San Antonio River Authority collect surface water, stormwater, and sediment samples from the San Antonio River Basin. These samples are submitted to the River Authority Environmental Laboratory where scientists generate water quality data by conducting a variety of chemical, physical, and biological tests. Data is then compiled, analyzed, and summarized in reports using graphs, charts, and maps. The analytical reports are used to identify water quality impairments and concerns, assist in making decisions to promote basin-wide cooperative planning and communicate the health of our creeks and rivers.

Clean Rivers Program

The San Antonio River Authority’s Clean Rivers Program is the result of the Texas Legislature passing the Texas Clean Rivers Act [Senate Bill 818] in 1991.

River Authority Water Quality Viewer

Our Water Quality Viewer displays the monitoring efforts for the San Antonio River Authority Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) Clean Rivers Program and summarizes how the water quality in the San Antonio River Basin compares to the Texas Surface Water Quality Standards (TSWQS) using the latest TCEQ Integrated Report assessment.

River Authority Bacteria Dashboard

The River Authority tracks the bacteria Escherichia coli (E. coli) throughout the San Antonio River Watershed, and created our Bacteria Dashboard to display multiple visualizations of the most current monitoring station information.

San Antonio River Basin Water Summary Reports

Learn more about the health of the San Antonio River in our River Basin Summary Reports.

How Can You Help Improve The Health Of The River?

You can make a difference! Your everyday actions – even ones that seem small – can have either a positive or negative effect on the watershed. Scroll down to learn more about what you can do to make the San Antonio River safe, clean and enjoyable.

Improving the Health of Our Watershed

Recycling, picking up after your pet, composting, picking up litter, reducing single-use disposables, and applying fertilizer at appropriate times are all good examples of small actions that can improve the health of our watershed. In doing so, you are helping your community to ensure healthy creeks and rivers that support aquatic life, other wildlife, recreation opportunities, and a sound, sustainable ecosystem for present and future generations to enjoy.

Green Infrastructure Rebate Program

This program rebates construction of on-site stormwater best management practices (BMPs) to either new construction or a retrofit of existing property. The rebate program is available in Bexar, Wilson, Karnes, and Goliad counties.

San Antonio River Authority School Grant

The San Antonio River Authority School Grant provides funds to build stormwater runoff capture features on a school grounds within Bexar, Wilson, Karnes, and Goliad counties. The goal of this program is to create awareness of the negative impacts from stormwater runoff on our creeks and rivers, as well as to reduce stormwater runoff on the school site. The purpose of this grant is to educate the public about campus drainage issues including nonpoint source pollution, localized flooding and erosion, and how to address these issues utilizing low impact development features.

Residential Rain Garden Club

A rain garden can help beautify your yard and help protect the environment. Think of the garden as a shallow bowl, about 6 to 9 inches deep, that captures rainwater from your roof, sidewalks and driveway. The rain garden allows you to slow down the flow of stormwater entering our waterways, to soak up some pollutants and filter the runoff that would otherwise end up in a storm drain, and ultimately in our creeks and rivers.

Low Impact Development Training

The San Antonio River Authority and Bexar County recently launched a training program for the construction inspection and maintenance of Low Impact Development (LID) permanent stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs). LID is a design approach modeled after nature to manage stormwater runoff in a manner that mimics natural hydrologic processes, providing benefits for water quality and mitigating negative impacts of stormwater runoff on downstream resources including streams and rivers.

Other Helpful Tips to Protect the Environment

Reduce or eliminate single-use plastics such as straws, water bottles, cups, utensils by using reusable or refillable products.

Choose eco-friendly products when you can. Many sunscreens and bug sprays can harm water resources.

Environmental Investigation

The Environmental Science Department (ESD) provides research, data gathering, scientific assessment and environmental coordination functions for the San Antonio River Authority.

Laboratory Services

The San Antonio River Authority (River Authority) Regional Environmental Laboratory offers analytical testing services throughout Texas for non-potable water, solid and chemical materials, and environmental water quality monitoring efforts.

Clean Rivers Program

The Texas Clean Rivers Act is intended to move Texas towards comprehensive water resources planning and management to ensure the integrity of the state’s water supply over the long term.

Aquatic Biologists

The San Antonio River Authority relies on water quality scientists, aquatic biologists, stormwater scientists and environmental investigators to collect and analyze data that identifies positive and negative conditions in the San Antonio River.

Ecosystems

An ecosystem is an interconnected community of living things, such as plants, animals, and microbes, and the nonliving environment, such as air, climate, water, minerals, that surrounds it.

Bays & Estuaries

While most people are aware of the San Antonio Riverwalk, few realize the San Antonio River actually flows 240-miles southeast from its headwaters in central San Antonio. It merges with the Guadalupe River and these combined waters empty into the San Antonio Bay on the South Texas coast.

Invasive Species

The San Antonio River Authority (River Authority) is proactive when it comes to protecting our natural resources and staff has been hard at work to address invasive species as part of our commitment to safe, clean, and enjoyable creeks and rivers.

River Health

San Antonio River Watershed Water Quality Viewer