March- Clarissa Castellanos
In this text I will be referring back to my camping trip at Tyler State Park, which is relatively 250 miles away from Austin. My camping trip took place from Thursday March 24-27. It was exciting to be able to have the opportunity to visit this park. I had never been anywhere near the area before so it was exciting to see what the park would be like. The park turned out to be bigger than what I expected it to be. It is roughly 985 acres which also includes a 64- acre lake.
Turtles!!!!
Early in the morning I decided to explore the park and I couldn’t help but notice piles of mud that had been washed from uphill. I was pretty sure that there had to have been a recent storm in the area. As I explored the park, I couldn’t help but notice the abundance of vegetation. I noticed all kinds of plants including flowering Dogwood, Eastern Redbud and Mexican Plum bloom. There were large populations of pine trees. Surrounding the lake was a pine-hardwood forest. As I walked along the trail located around the perimeter of the lake I saw a variety of animals such as frogs, turtles, and even an encounter with a snake high above on a tree. Although it was hard to spot birds, their songs could be heard across the park. A bird that I could identify was a Pine Warbler which was a few feet above in the forest canopy. More than 135 species of birds have been identified. The abundance of different plant species took me by surprise. I am not used to seeing such a diverse population of plants and didn’t expect to encounter such variety. I simply expected to encounter lots of pine trees some vines here and there, with some flowering shrubs. Click the active link more information regarding flora and fauna.I came across an open space next to the lake that was perfect to sit and observe. Something that stood out to me was how the soil was a red/orange tint with a sandy texture. Soil is the foundation of all peculiar plant life in the area. Most plants in this area require fertile sandy loam soil that is slightly acidic.
Acknowledging the diversity of flora and fauna in the park, I imagined there had to be conservation practices that the park performed. I found information online on some practices that help to maintain the natural conditions of the park. The Texas Pineywoods were originally described as an open forest by early settlers every now and then. Wildfires would emerge in the forest keeping the canopy clear and allowed sunlight to reach the ground. This creates perfect conditions for wildfires and grasses to thrive. Every now and then, Tyler State Park is exposed to controlled fires allowing native plants to flourish. Putting out fires and increasing the farm land in the area has made the park one of the few places in which the forest has kept the authentic characteristics of the Texas Pineywoods.
From my observations, I realized that throughout the park there had been many places in which there was a lot of soil that had been washed away. The streams that flowed into the lake seemed to have washed away much of the soil around it. Many tree roots were exposed. It was easy to see up to which point the water had rose in the streams. I did a bit of research regarding the amount of rainfall that the area receives, which is roughly about 44 inches annually. As I searched for the amount of rainfall I stumbled across something which explained why there was so much soil washed up in many places throughout the park. A week before visiting the State Park, the city of Tyler, along with neighboring towns, were hit by a large storm that caused massive flooding where many roads and school districts were forced to close. Kilgore, a town only 25 miles away from Tyler, suffered a severe flood that broke a 70 year-old record. Kilgore received a tremendous amount of water and suffered severe damage. A state of emergency had to be declared.
I knew the damages that a flood could have on waterways especially in constructed environments; causing economic and social consequences, however I never realized the impact that floods could have on the natural environment. I always believed water was beneficial for plants and animals no matter how much the quantity. However, searching through the internet I found many ways in which ecosystems were affected by floods. Floods enable more nutrients and pollutants to enter waterways which have a negative impact on the water quality downstream. Hazardous chemicals that are not biodegradable can easily be washed up. Floods could potentially make species susceptible to habitat loss. Floods can also wash up debris and small trash which can affect plants and animals. Flood damagecan vary from place to place.
I also stumbled across other information regarding a warning in Tyler advising its residents to boil the water before drinking it. I also found a public notice by the City of Tyler which discussed findings produced by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). TCEQ found that the City of Tyler exceeded its Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) placed by the EPA of Haloacetic acids as well as Trihalomethanes in certain sampling locations. Both of these are considered to be disinfection by-products used in water treatment facilities. Unfortunately, I was unable to find any information that suggested a correlation between floods and the excess use of disinfectants specifically found in Tyler.
However, it could be possible that floods contaminate Tyler’s primary drinking water source. 96% of Tyler’s drinking water comes is surface water from Lake Tyler, Lake Tyler East, and Lake Palestine which are vulnerable to floods and their negative impacts. Contamination of these lakes due to floods could require the City of Tyler to use more disinfectants.
“We never know the worth of water till the well is dry.”
-Anonymous
Works Cited
Corleone, Jill. “Side Effects of Drinking Water With High Haloacetic Acids.” LIVESTRONG.COM. LIVESTRONG.COM, 16 Aug. 2013. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
Gallop, Skylar. “Kilgore Flooding Breaks 70+ Year Old Record.” Kilgore Flooding Breaks 70+ Year Old Record. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
“Health Risk of the Trihalomethanes Found in Drinking Water Carcinogenic Activity and Interactions.” Health Risk of the Trihalomethanes Found in Drinking Water Carcinogenic Activity and Interactions| Research Project Database. EPA, n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
KLTV Digital Media Staff. “Road Closures, High Water Locations around ETX.” Road Closures, High Water Locations around ETX. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
Littlechild, Stephen. “Tyler Water Utilities.” Utilities Policy (2016): n. pag. Cityoftyler.org. Web.
“Nature.” Tyler State Park. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
“Nature.” Tyler State Park. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
“Texas A&M Forest Service – Trees of Texas – Ecoregions – Pineywoods.” Texas A&M Forest Service – Trees of Texas – Ecoregions – Pineywoods. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
“Texas A&M Forest Service – Trees of Texas – Ecoregions – Pineywoods.” Texas A&M Forest Service – Trees of Texas – Ecoregions – Pineywoods. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.
TPWD. “Interpretative Guide To: Tyler State Park.” (n.d.): n. pag. Tpwd.texas.gov. Web.
“What Are the Consequences of Floods?” Office of the Queensland Chief Scientist. N.p., n.d. Web.
Wildlife, Texas Parks And. “Interpretative Guide To: Tyler State Park.” (n.d.): n. pag. Web.