Pet Waste on the Greenbelt

As traffic on the Austin greenbelt increases year after year (1), locals and visitors are left wondering what to do about the trash left behind. Residents living near the greenbelt have reached out to the local news stations in the past year about the trash (2,3) but results from this media spotlight are uncertain. Besides physical trash, humans and pets leave other types of waste on the trails, I set out to explore how or if our chemical waste is having an effect on the water of Barton creek.

We have been there, all day drinking at the greenbelt, the sun is high in the sky and there is no bathroom in sight. You head to the water and quietly relieve yourself hoping no one will notice. Or worse, that 8am Rudy’s breakfast taco is hitting a little too hard and you aren’t going to make it back to the car, so you head for the woods for a quiet spot to contemplate becoming vegetarian. (Though I have heard that they also have rockstar poops) Let’s say you also brought your dog along, and they need to relieve themselves as well. You hiked more than a mile to get to this swimming hole, are you going to carry a dog poo all the way back? Austin has a “scoop the poop” education program and a city ordinance against leaving poop.  Upon our visit we witnessed 16 un-scooped poops directly on the trail, 8 were already bagged and 8 were not. Why am I even writing about 16 poops on more than a mile hike one way? This was a surprisingly high amount of waste for a very low traffic time, the water level is extremely low and it was a weekday. Secondly, most of the poops were within the first 1000ft of trail, the closest you will ever be to a trash can on the whole hike. The bagged poops were often lower down the trail, assuming people meant to come back and get it and forgot.  Let’s dive into some of the city water data to further explore.

The first question on everyone’s mind is “Is there really poop in the greenbelt water” The answer to that is yes, there is E.coli bacteria in the greenbelt water. The real question you should be asking is how much is there? E.coli is measured in surface water as MPN/100ml or Most Probable Number per 100 milliliters(5). The TCEQ (Texas Commission on environmental quality) allowable E.coli for swimming is 126 MPN/100ml(4,5,6).  So what does that mean for greenbelt water? Well Last year in July, the heat of the summer, the MPN for Barton creek upstream of Barton pool was 104 MPN/100ml(7). Throughout the year it varies from a very low of 24 MPN/100ml (winter and early spring), to the max of 104 measured in July(7). Not surprisingly the measurement in July 2017 further upstream, of the most popular swim spots, at Lost Creek Blvd was 73 MPN/100ml(7). The measurement is below the TCEQ recommended limits at the time of testing, and the bacteria levels are higher downstream of popular swimming areas. The water is safe to swim in, but no one out there is recommending that you drink it.

What are the impacts of human/pet waste in the water? Just because the bacteria levels are below recommended amounts does not mean that the waste is having no effect. Feces and urine are converted into nutrients that are recycled for plants to use. When the levels of nutrients are high, the levels of plant growth will also be high. This most commonly manifests itself in algal blooms in both freshwater and saltwater(8,9). As the algae die they use up oxygen and long term this can cause oxygen depletion for the fish and other freshwater organisms that use the water. 

Dogs are required to be on-leash in public parks unless it is designated as an off leash area. One of the main reasons for this is that you are more likely to see your dog poop if it is right next to you rather than up in the woods chasing a squirrel. The greenbelt has become a unofficial off leash area, do you think it should remain that way?

Sources for this post

1. Protecting our Natural Resources, 2015, Austin Tx, Gov,  http://www.austintexas.gov/blog/protecting-our-natural-resources  :Accessed 6/18/18
2. McGivern, Kylie, 2017 Trash Piling up on Barton Creek Greenbelt,  https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/trash-piles-up-on-barton-creek-greenbelt/994768060  :Accessed 6/18/18
3. LeBlanc, Pam, 2018, People are trashing the greenbelt again http://fitness.blog.austin360.com/2018/03/12/people-are-trashing-the-greenbelt-again-and-reddit-users-are-angry/ :Accessed 6/19/18
4. Bacteria in Surface Water, Quality Standards, TAMU http://twri.tamu.edu/docs/education/2012/em114.pdf  :Accessed 6/19/18
5. What is a MPN versus CFU, http://www.cascadeanalytical.com/resources-downloads/faqs
6. Three total maximum daily loads for indicator bacteria, 2012 https://www.tceq.texas.gov/assets/public/waterquality/tmdl/85carters/85-CartersCreekTMDL-Adopted.pdf   :Accessed 6/19/18
7. City of Austin public water quality data, Updated 2018, https://data.austintexas.gov/Environment/barton_creek_greenbelt_2016_to_2018/mwqh-227b
8. Big, Green and Rough, Cladaphora Algae Blooms, 2015, http://www.austintexas.gov/blog/big-green-and-rough-cladaphora-algae-blooms-austin-creeks  Accessed 6/20/18
10. Scoop the poop program, http://www.austintexas.gov/department/scoop-the-poop

Davy Crockett National Forest

I am honestly having trouble putting into words my experience at the national forest. This was my first time visiting and I also went alone. When I told people I was going alone I got mixed responses but most were in the range of “that’s dangerous”. Even my husband was skeptical as to why I needed or wanted to go alone. He responded “why don’t you wait for a weekend so I can go with you”. Going by myself was a big step for me as this would be my first solo hike. I wouldn’t be spending the night, but I would be driving and hiking alone.

The first thing you notice when you turn into the national forest is that the number of people dramatically drops to near zero. I did go on a weekday which was probably responsible for the low turnout, but during my entire visit to the 251 square mile forest I saw only 2 other people. The forest is very old and tall, the trees tower over you in a way that only old growth can. I instantly felt the urge to roll down my windows as I drove on the park road, and I was rewarded with a rich woody humid smell. As I parked and turned off my car the silence hit me. A deafening crowding silence. No cars, electrical hums, machinery, nothing. This complete silence was hard to take in and for the first 30 minutes of my visit my heart rate and blood pressure felt abnormally high. I felt the need to return to the safety of my car. Full disclosure, I did bring my dog along, but at that moment she did not bring me any real comfort.

I entered the trail at Ratcliff park which, based on information at the empty visitors center, was a tourist destination for summer. As I began to walk I started thinking about all of the things that could kill me. Every horror movie, camping disaster, and CSI episode began racing through my head. “Hiker dies in woods and isn’t found for days”, they would say “why did she hike alone, so irresponsible”.  The fear was very real and made my progress on the first mile very slow. To make matters worse I scared quite a few napping deer who found the brush near the trail a nice place to rest for the mid morning. I would turn a corner and be met face to face with a leaping frightened deer as it bucks and jumps away from me into the woods. Needless to say I was on edge.

Two miles into the trail I began to calm down, the silence was replaced with a quiet buzz of animal activity, and the forest began to feel familiar. I was able to begin to appreciate the nature around me and take it in. I started feeling excitement and enjoyment of looking, listening and smelling. There was almost too much to look at and I needed to see all of it. At the halfway point I pitched my hammock and ate lunch. I took a moment to close my eyes and be still, to feel the soft breeze and hear the sounds of the forest. It almost seems to be breathing in and out with each passing gust of wind. In-between each breath you hear birds, insects and small animals going about their day.

The return trip always feels quicker than the initial one. I was no longer walking with fear but a slight confidence that I knew not only where I was but I was happy to be there. I was almost disappointed to arrive back at my car so soon and I began to look for excuses to stay just 10 more minutes. I am incredibly happy I challenged myself to solo hike. Maybe it was the fact that I was alone which made it more impactful, the lack of conversation and distraction allowed me to see more than I normally would have. Either way I left with a new found experience and love for nature.