Table of Contents
  1. The San Marcos River
  2. Origin of the San Marcos River Task Force
  3. Legislative Actions
  4. The First and Second Task Force Meetings
  5. The Third Task Force Meeting
  6. Ongoing Litigation and County Actions
  7. TPWD Staff Summary
  8. Comments & Additional Information
List of Attachments
 

Report on the San Marcos River Task Force

I. The San Marcos River

The San Marcos River originates from San Marcos Springs at the Texas State University Meadows Center for Water and the Environment (formerly Aquarena Springs) within the City of San Marcos. It is then joined by the Blanco River just outside of the San Marcos City limits, and continues to flow for a total of about 85 miles before its confluence with the Guadalupe River in Gonzales County (Tab 1, San Marcos River Map).

The San Marcos River has long been a destination for river recreationists, who enjoy angling, tubing, paddling, and swimming in the spring-fed waters. Sometime prior to 2014, two tubing outfitters (Texas State Tubes and Don’s Fish Camp) began operating in a 3.6-mile segment of the river outside of the San Marcos City limits ("the study area" or "river segment"). A third company, Cool River Ranch, began holding an annual "Float Fest" (Tab 2, Float Fest News Article), which is a two day summer music festival featuring live music, camping, and river floats through the same study area (Tab 3, Map of Study Area). This river segment flows through Caldwell, Hays, and Guadalupe counties and is within the legislative districts of state Senator Zaffirini and state Representatives Cyrier, Isaac, and Kuempel. Although this river segment is not within the city limits of Martindale (or any other incorporated city), Martindale’s roads are utilized by the shuttle buses and other vehicular traffic associated with the tubing businesses.