
The San Marcos River Rangers are volunteers trained as citizen scientists to conduct scientific data collection at 30 sites along the San Marcos and Blanco rivers.
As the oldest and one of the largest monitoring groups in the state, the River Rangers have collected and tested water quality samples along the San Marcos and Blanco rivers for 28 years, monitoring the health of the river and alerting city and county officials to potential problems. Over 50 monitors go out monthly to collect samples and further our understanding of the river’s cycles.
SMRF works with numerous groups and has provided local teachers with grant money to start their own water quality testing programs for middle and high school students.The River Rangers have trained over a thousand monitors from across the state to become state certified water quality monitors, accounting for more than a third of all monitors in the state.
For more information about becoming a River Ranger and joining a training, contact:
Adam Berglund, Trainer and Coordinator
RiverRangers@SanMarcosRiver.org
Or use our Contact Form.
SMRF 2023 Water Quality Monitoring training schedule:
Standard Core
Jan. 14, 2023 (SAT) 10AM-2PM – Standard Core @ San Marcos
Feb. 12, 2023 (SUN) 10AM-2PM – Standard Core @ San Marcos
Mar. 11, 2023 (SAT) 10AM-2PM – Standard Core @ San Marcos
Apr. 09, 2023 (SUN) 10AM-2PM – Standard Core @ San Marcos
May 13, 2023 (SAT) 10AM-2PM – Standard Core @ San Marcos
Jun. 11, 2023 (SUN) 10AM-2PM – Standard Core @ San Marcos
Jul. 08, 2023 (SAT) 10AM-2PM – Standard Core @ San Marcos
Aug. 13, 2023 (SUN) 10AM-2PM – Standard Core @ San Marcos
Sep. 09, 2023 (SAT) 10AM-2PM – Standard Core @ San Marcos
Oct. 15, 2023 (SUN) 10AM-2PM – Standard Core @ San Marcos
Nov. 11, 2023 (SAT) 10AM-2PM – Standard Core @ San Marcos
Dec. 10, 2023 (SUN) 10AM-2PM – Standard Core @ San Marcos
Riparian Evaluation
Feb. 11, 2023 (SAT) 10AM-2PM – Riparian Evaluation @ San Marcos
Mar. 12, 2023 (SUN) 10AM-2PM – Riparian Evaluation @ San Marcos
May 14, 2023 (SUN) 10AM-2PM – Riparian Evaluation @ San Marcos
Jul. 09, 2023 (SUN) 10AM-2PM – Riparian Evaluation @ San Marcos
Aug. 12, 2023 (SAT) 10AM-2PM – Riparian Evaluation @ San Marcos
Nov. 12, 2023 (SUN) 10AM-2PM – Riparian Evaluation @ San Marcos
Dec. 09, 2023 (SAT) 10AM-2PM – Riparian Evaluation @ San Marcos
E. coli Bacteria (pre-reqs required)
Apr. 08, 2023 (SAT) 10AM-2PM – E. coli Bacteria @ San Marcos
Sep. 10, 2023 (SUN) 10AM-2PM – E. coli Bacteria @ San Marcos
Advanced (pre-reqs required)
Jan. 15, 2023 (SUN) 10AM-2PM – Advanced @ San Marcos
Oct. 14, 2023 (SAT) 10AM-2PM – Advanced @ San Marcos