San Antonio River Basin Report Card 2022

How is this being measured?

For this metric, the grade is calculated by using the total park usage for this fiscal year (July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2022) and dividing that number by park usage data from previous fiscal years, then multiply by 100 to get the final score. All of the individual park scores related to usage of parks operated and maintained by the River Authority are averaged together for one grade and a second grade is created for all the individual park scores related to usage of parks located along creeks and rivers throughout the basin which are operated and maintained by other governments or entities. These two grades are then averaged together to determine the final overall grade for this metric. The list of parks being scored are identified in the “Explanation of the Grade” section.

The intent of this grade will be to expand the historical data available over the next few years so there is enough data to allow for a rolling 5-year average to be used in the calculation of the grade. For this year’s basin report card grade, the oldest park usage data we have for some of the parks comes from fiscal year 2017-18, which will allow for a 5-year rolling average to be used in the calculation. Some of the park usage data does not go back all the way to Fiscal Year 2017-18, and in some cases, parks have just opened, or they are identified to open in the future. Therefore, there isn’t yet enough historical data to score each park listed in the “Explanation of the Grade” section. The missing data will be clearly identified in the “Explanation of the Grade” section. We have decided to include the parks with missing data because over the next few years it is anticipated that all the data gaps will be filled allowing for these parks to be properly scored.

Essentially, this grade is a trend analysis for park usage with the basic assumption being that maintaining or increasing the amount of park usage is positive (i.e. will get a higher grade) and a decreasing amount of park usage is negative (i.e. will get a lower grade). Being a trend analysis, it is possible that this grade may produce scores above 100 or below 0. Scores above 100 will be shown as an “A+” on the report card dashboard and a score below 0 will be shown as a “F.” The actual numeric value will be used in the averaging of all metrics to produce the overall basin grade.

There is an exception to this metric as related to the River Authority’s paddling trail usage score. This score is not a trend analysis, but rather is based solely on data from Fiscal Year 2021-22. This score is determined by comparing the reported number of paddlers per the Canoe Trail Goliad and the approved paddling vendors in San Antonio against their beginning of the year projections.

For transparency, the River Authority recognizes that it is possible that overuse of a park may, in the long run, be detrimental to that park. Therefore, it may be argued by some that giving a positive score for increasing park usage may not be the ideal way to grade park usage. We were aware of this concern during the development of the San Antonio River Basin Report Card and decided to proceed with the use of the metric as described above despite its potential shortcomings. The River Authority firmly believes that more access to nature-based parks and paddling trails will provide area residents and visitors a greater appreciation for the natural resources and quality of life benefits provided by the San Antonio River and its tributaries. This increased appreciation will help promote preservation and conservation of these resources by individuals, businesses, and government. We will, however, address the potential threat of park overuse, when necessary, in future report cards in the “Key Findings” section of this metric.