San Marcos River Foundation

08/26/2026

Curious about what “El Nino” means? Here’s a great explanation about past events, which means it’s just really really hard to predict.

A few days of rain chances now -> Friday before we settle back to little/no rain chances and above average heat through the first week of September.... So when is this whole El Nino thing finally going to work its magic on Texas?

If our LAST super El Nino event is any indication, it could be a while.

2015 was among the strongest El Nino events on record which did result in a very wet fall/winter for Austin, but only AFTER we racked up a 6"+ deficit of rainfall in August, September, and the first half of October. That was quickly followed up by a major flood around Halloween and additional consistent rain/storm chances through the end of the year.

Does 2026 follow the same rubric? Possibly, but it's impossible to know for sure. My main point: El Nino doesn't automatically kick in on September 1st when meteorological fall begins, but its influence will eventually be known later this fall/winter.

08/25/2026

Who whoooo’s gonna have a good week? Don’t forget to do that rain dance 🥴😅🥵

08/21/2026

Are you interested in killing mosquitos without harming pollinators? Check out these tips to help you with your goals, and please dont use the mosquito sprays!! 🐛 🦋 🐝

This brochure discusses the risks posed by backyard mosquito sprays and covers simple and environmentally friendly practices to effectively manage mosquitoes instead of using insecticides.

08/21/2026

It’s gonna be brutal over the next week, but hopefully you’ll get to enjoy the river at some point!

Wake up babe, new dome name just dropped

This is an escalation thanks to new data that:
🔹Keeps high temperatures over 105 for most of next week in Central/North Texas
🔹Keeps rain out of sight for what could be Austin's driest August in decades

08/21/2026

The drought monitor going the wrong direction for the first time in a long time.

Moderate drought now covering more real estate through Williamson County to Burnet County as of this morning's update. Severe drought still in place between Austin and Bastrop.

Not unexpected when our dry streak stands at 27 days with another 7 hot/dry days lined up ahead of us. If we don't see another drop of rain over the next 11 days, this will be our driest August since the 1950s. There's enough hope on the horizon (end of next week) for *some* rain, so hopefully we won't have to enter the record books for the wrong reasons.

08/21/2026

This is INCREDIBLE news for Caldwell County and the San Marcos River watershed!!! Huge thanks to everyone who worked behind the scenes to make this happen ❤️

EXCLUSIVE: Amid Public Outcry, Aalo Atomics Announces it is Abandoning Facility in Caldwell County

Our July and August editions reported on the liquid-sodium testing facility under construction off Old McMahan Road as well as pushback from neighbors like Mary Lynne Seay.

The retired ICU nurse told the Examiner, “They could literally steal the lives of my daughter, her husband, my grandkids and ruin this land if they have a leak.” linktr.ee/caldwell.hays.examiner

Today Matt Loszak, CEO of Aalo Atomics, confirmed to the Examiner that his company is ditching plans for the site between Lockhart and McMahan. He said in a statement:

“Aalo engaged with Caldwell County and local officials throughout the development and permitting process and worked in good faith to follow the requirements and guidance provided to us. As the project progressed, the permitting requirements and path forward evolved. Ultimately, we determined that continuing development at the Caldwell County site no longer made business sense for Aalo and decided to pursue other options.”

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08/18/2026

Heat wave incoming and NO rain in sight for the next 7 days! 😩😩😩

The rains we received this summer were helpful, but not as helpful as you might think… The San Marcos gauge got above 100 cfs from June 17th to July 4th, and then again from July 15th to August 5th… Other than that we’ve stayed below 100 cfs- approximately 60 cfs below our average flows.

Please conserve every drop you can, because we are still in drought conditions! Sure hope El Niño brings us moisture sooner rather than later! 😅🙏

08/14/2026

Huge shoutout to the unsung heroes of trail building in San Marcos- the San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance !!! We appreciate our partnership with SMGA on the HunDun trail more than we can articulate, and will let you know the MINUTE this trail is open!!!

08/12/2026

Look how the HunDun trail is coming along!!!! It’s gonna be gorgeous y’all 😍😍😍
Huge thanks to our partners over at San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance for everything they’re doing to make this a reality ❤️

08/10/2026

Huge thanks to KeepSMTXBeautiful and the volunteers this morning for working so hard to find all of the micro-trash!!! The water bottle caps and plastic straw wrappers were everywhere. Please pick up everything around you when you go enjoy the river!