Report: Galveston Bay’s health ‘adequate for now’

Encroachment on wetlands seen as threat to health of its watershed

Rapid, near-unabated development is eating away at what remains of the Houston area’s freshwater wetlands, habitat crucial to maintaining a healthy Galveston Bay watershed, leaders of two nonprofit agencies said Wednesday as part of a “report card” on the bay’s health.

The loss of freshwater wetlands was one of the biggest takeaways of the report released Wednesday, the third year the bay has been graded by the environmental advocacy group Galveston Bay Foundation and the Houston Advanced Research Center, a nonpartisan research group.

The groups graded the overall health of the Galveston Bay watershed — including not only the bay, but the multitude of bayous, creeks and rivers that drain into it in eight counties surrounding Houston — as a “C,” or “adequate for now.”

The grade, according to the report, means that while the bay is healthy in some areas, such as recreational use and nutrient levels in the water, it still faces “monumental

issues.”

The report cites habitat loss, a large oil spill near Galveston last year and sea levels that have risen almost 2 feet since records first were kept in the early 20th Century as some of the threats keeping the bay from receiving a higher grade.

“We’re trying to raise awareness for the bay,” said Bob Stokes, president of the Galveston Bay Foundation. “There are likely things we can all do to improve the health of Galveston Bay.”

The report card comes as state and federal funding for environmental projects is expected to drop significantly, Stokes said. The Trump administration has proposed not allocating any money for the Galveston Bay Estuary Program, and state funding has been cut routinely over the last several years.

Cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also have slowed the federal agency’s ability to complete wetland surveys and surveys of oyster reefs, leading to incomplete information when it comes to grading the watershed.

Stokes said he expects that by the time budget negotiations finish in Washington, there will be some federal funding for the estuary program.

The report covers six categories. Five of those categories received a grade of C or lower: human health risks, wildlife, habitat, coastal change and pollution. Water quality received an “A” grade.

Other key takeaways from the 2017 report, said Lisa Gonzalez, president and CEO of the Houston Advanced Research Center, include the rise in sea levels. Gonzalez and Stokes pointed to climate change and the Houston region’s subsidence as reasons that sea level poses a greater threat to coastal communities.

Gonzalez said the frequency of coastal flooding also was concerning.

“That’s something that we’ve been watching,” she said.

Pollution, also, was a concern. Stokes and Gonzalez pointed to an 88,000-gallon oil spill near Battleship Texas in September 2016 that polluted the bay. The report encourages citizens to put pressure on local officials to “prioritize bay cleanup.”

Invasive species also have wreaked havoc on the local ecosystem. Gonzalez pointed to armored catfish that burrow into and erode the banks of bayous; tallow trees that drop leaves that stop the growth of other plants around it; and water hyacinth and giant salvinia that choke waterways and lakes, ruining the natural habitat.

The report encourages people to volunteer to restore habitat or conserve their land.

Dioxins and other pollutants near the San Jacinto River’s confluence with the bay also have made fishing and crabbing there dangerous. Blue crabs — a local commercial fishery — face contamination dangers, affecting the restaurant industry in addition to people’s daily sustenance.

This year’s report card is the last one that was part of the program’s original $720,000 grant from the Houston Endowment. Gonzalez said she was talking to the foundation for the next round of funding, which likely will be announced in February.