Kyle — Kyle residents continue to show their commitment to keeping the environment clean.
More than 400 volunteers devoted a recent Saturday morning to participate in the Steeplechase Park and Plum Creek Watershed Clean-Up.
The event was coordinated by the city of Kyle Parks and Recreation Department, the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority, the Plum Creek Watershed Partnership and Hays CISD schools Lehman High and Fuentes Elementary.
Following talks highlighting the importance of being involved in protecting the watershed, volunteers fanned out to remove trash and debris from fields and streams in the area.
Participants removed more than 1,740 pounds of recyclable materials and 1,720 pounds of trash from around Plum Creek in Steeplechase Park and Lake Kyle in the Plum Creek Preserve and Nature Trail (still under development).
In all, more than 3.5 miles of streams in city parks were cleaned up. “Steeplechase Park is clean. We still have a long way to go on Lake Kyle, but we made a big start,” Kerry Urbanowicz, city of Kyle director of parks and recreation, said.
In conjunction with the event, existing dog droppings in Steeplechase Park were marked with flags prior to the cleanup to demonstrate their potential to contaminate Plum Creek with bacteria and nutrients.
According to Urbanowicz, after 550 dog droppings were marked in 2009, only 128 were found in 2010. The city has installed pet waste stations in the park with bags for easy clean-up, and park staff hope visitors will help reduce pollution from pet waste even further.
Participants received a free T-shirt and water bottle and lunch.
Kyle sits at the headwaters of the Plum Creek Watershed. Rain, irrigation and runoff within city limits drains to small local streams. Because this water forms the beginnings of Plum Creek, the city plays an important role in water quality downstream as the creek meanders 52 miles past Lockhart and Luling.
