Difference between revisions of "State of the Beach/State Reports/TX/Water Quality"

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Surfrider Foundation's Texas Chapter conducts water quality testing at local beaches as part of Surfrider's [http://www.surfrider.org/whatwedo3c.asp Blue Water Task Force] program. Their test results can be found at http://www.surfrider.org/BWTFoutput.asp
 
Surfrider Foundation's Texas Chapter conducts water quality testing at local beaches as part of Surfrider's [http://www.surfrider.org/whatwedo3c.asp Blue Water Task Force] program. Their test results can be found at http://www.surfrider.org/BWTFoutput.asp
  
 +
 
=Water Quality Contact=
 
=Water Quality Contact=
 
Craig Davis<br />
 
Craig Davis<br />
 
Texas Beach Watch Coordinator<br />
 
Texas Beach Watch Coordinator<br />
Coastal Grants, Education, & Outreach Division<br />
+
Grant Program & Support<br />
 
Texas General Land Office<br />
 
Texas General Land Office<br />
 
Phone: (512) 463-8126 <br />
 
Phone: (512) 463-8126 <br />
Email: craig.davis@glo.state.tx.us
+
Email: craig.davis@glo.texas.gov
  
 
=Beach Closures=
 
=Beach Closures=

Revision as of 09:14, 26 January 2011

Home Beach Indicators Methodology Findings Beach Manifesto State Reports Chapters Perspectives Model Programs Bad and Rad Conclusion


Texas Ratings
Indicator Type Information Status
Beach Access86
Water Quality75
Beach Erosion9-
Erosion Response-5
Beach Fill7-
Shoreline Structures5 5
Beach Ecology3-
Surfing Areas45
Website10-
Coastal Development{{{19}}}{{{20}}}
Sea Level Rise{{{21}}}{{{22}}}

Water Quality Monitoring Program

BEACH Act
The Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act (BEACH Act) signed into law on October 10, 2000, amends the federal Clean Water Act (CWA), incorporating provisions intended to reduce the risk of illness to users of the Nation's recreational waters. The BEACH Act authorizes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to award program development and implementation grants to eligible States, Territories, Tribes, and local governments to support microbiological testing and monitoring of coastal recreation waters, including the Great Lakes, that are adjacent to beaches or similar points of access used by the public. BEACH Act grants also provide support for development and implementation of programs to notify the public of the potential exposure to disease-causing microorganisms in coastal recreation waters. EPA encourages coastal States and Territories to apply for BEACH Act Grants for Program Implementation (referred to as Implementation Grants) to implement effective and comprehensive coastal recreation water monitoring and public notification programs. CWA section 406(i) authorizes appropriations of up to $30 million per year to develop and implement beach programs. Unfortunately, only about one-third that amount has been authorized each year since the program's inception. In recent years, the total funding available for BEACH Act grants has been about $9.5 million. Funding beyond 2012 has been in jeopardy, since EPA's budget requests for this program in FY2013 and FY2014 were ZERO (money for testing in 2013 and 2014 was ultimately allocated as part of Continuing Resolutions to resolve the Federal Budget impasse) and there was also no money for beach testing in the FY2015 budget. Again, it was restored at the last minute as part of a Continuing Resolution. It is very discouraging to have to fight for this basic funding to protect the public's health at the beach every year. Thankfully, there is a growing movement to provide stable funding. Unfortunately, in 2017 the situation is even more dire. If available, funds are allocated to the states and territories based on a formula which uses three factors that are readily available and verifiable: (1) Length of beach season, (2) miles of beach and (3) number of people that use the beaches. Texas was eligible for a $364,000 grant in fiscal year 2016.

On April 8, 2009, Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson unveiled the new Texas Beach Watch website. The website is part of a public notification initiative that reports water conditions along the coast. The updated website provides information alerts on water quality conditions for Texas recreational beach users.

Other parts of the public notification initiative include a banner ad campaign on selected travel and news websites, public service announcements for television and radio in both English and Spanish and new beach signage to correspond with the new Texas Beach Watch logo.

Much of the following discussion is taken from the Texas section of National Resources Defense Council's (NRDC) report Testing the Waters, A Guide to Water Quality at Vacation Beaches, July 2010.

Texas has 169 public beaches lining 324 of the approximately 2500 miles of Texas shoreline. The Texas General Land Office (GLO) administers the Texas Beach Watch Program. Virtually all of the Texas coast is bordered by a barrier island system that separates the Gulf of Mexico from the bays. Although fishing activity is heavy in the bay systems, most swimming occurs on the Gulf beaches.

Monitoring

Sampling Practices: Beaches are monitored year-round, but are most frequently monitored from May to September as well as during the month of March, in order to coincide with spring break at Gulf of Mexico beaches.

The GLO determines sampling practices, locations, and standards, and recommends that local government and health departments issue beach advisories when the bacterial standard is exceeded. Samples are generally collected about one foot below the surface in water that is knee deep and in an area of high activity. If the majority of this recreational activity occurs at a depth significantly different than two feet, then samples can be collected at the location of greatest swimmer activity. Also, if the two-foot sampling depth occurs more than 50 meters from shore, samples can be collected 50 meters from shore or at the location of greatest swimmer activity. Recreational beach segments that are used most frequently by the public and where health risks are the greatest are given priority for monitoring.

If a sample exceeds standards, monitoring is conducted daily until standards are met. States that monitor more frequently after an exceedance is found will tend to have higher percent exceedance rates and lower total closing/advisory days than they would have had if their sampling schedule were not altered after an exceedance was found.

Closings and Advisories

Standards and Procedures: The GLO applies an enterococcus single-sample maximum of 104 cfu/100ml when making decisions about whether to recommend advisories. Two samples are taken simultaneously at each location and the results are averaged before comparing with the standard. No geometric mean standard for five samples taken over a 30-day period is applied.

V. vulnificus causes a bacterial infection that may be contracted by eating contaminated seafood, especially oysters. The bacteria can also enter the body through open wounds when swimming or wading in infected waters. Symptoms of infection include vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and a blistering dermatitis. The Texas Department of Health tests regularly for V. vulnificus in Galveston Bay, as it is a primary health consideration with regard to oyster consumption and harvesting as well as skin contact.

Texas does not have preemptive rainfall standards. In the case of a known sewage spill, the decision to issue a preemptive closing or advisory would be made by local government.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) has a team of biologists that responds to incidents where fish or other animals have been harmed. These specially trained biologists contact other agencies and personnel (including Texas Department of State Health Services if human health issues are suspected, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for impacts to natural resources, and the governing authority that manages a particular area), collect water samples for analysis and confirmation of algae, if appropriate, collect water quality and environmental data, and identify and count the number of dead wildlife, among other tasks. The TPWD monitors harmful algal blooms and communicates to the public through their website, email alerts, and a hotline. The Harmful Algal Bloom Workgroup has produced the Texas Harmful Algal Bloom Response Plan for identification and management of harmful algal blooms in Texas.

Surfrider Foundation's Texas Chapter conducts water quality testing at local beaches as part of Surfrider's Blue Water Task Force program. Their test results can be found at http://www.surfrider.org/BWTFoutput.asp


Water Quality Contact

Craig Davis
Texas Beach Watch Coordinator
Grant Program & Support
Texas General Land Office
Phone: (512) 463-8126
Email: craig.davis@glo.texas.gov

Beach Closures

NRDC reported:

Number of Closings and Advisories: Total closing/advisory days for 152 events lasting six consecutive weeks or less decreased 27% to 231 days in 2009 from 318 days in 2008, 532 days in 2007, 473 days in 2006, and 420 days in 2005. In addition, there were no extended or permanent events in 2009 or 2008. Extended events are those in effect more than 6 but not more than 13 consecutive weeks; permanent events are in effect for more than 13 consecutive weeks.

Beach Closure Data

Year Temporary Long Term
2009 231 0
2008 318 0
2007 532 0
2006 473 0
2005 420 0
2004 834 0
2003 71 0
2002 182∗ 0
2001 317 0
2000 0 4

Sources: NRDC, 2010; GLO, 2007
∗ = at least this number

In May 2010, U.S. EPA released its latest data about beach closings and advisories for the 2009 swimming season. Note that for some states the data is incomplete, making state-to-state or year-to-year comparisons difficult.

NRDC reported:

In 2009, Texas reported 169 coastal beaches, 65 (38%) of which were monitored once a week, and 104 (62%) of which were not monitored. For the fifth consecutive year, NRDC looked at the percent of monitoring samples that exceeded the state’s daily maximum bacterial standards (all reported samples were used to calculate the 2009 percent exceedance values, including duplicate samples and samples taken outside the official beach season, if any). In 2009, 5% of all reported beach monitoring samples exceeded the state’s daily maximum bacterial standards. The beaches with the highest percent exceedance in 2009 were Ropes Park (37%), Poenisch Park (28%), Cole Park (25%), JFK Causeway-SW (22%) in Nueces County; Palacios-Palacios Pavillion (22%) in Matagorda County; Quintana (17%) in Brazoria County (17%); Galveston Island State Park Backside (17%), 45th St. (11%), and 61st St. (10%) in Galveston County; McGee Beach (9%) in Nueces County; and Rockport Beach Park (9%) in Aransas County.


Matagorda County had the highest exceedance (9%) in 2009 followed by Aransas (9%), Nueces (8%), San Patricio (8%), Kleberg (6%), Galveston (5%), Brazoria (4%), Jefferson (1%), and Cameron (1%).

Comparing percent exceedance values to previous years, NRDC includes only those beaches monitored and reported each year between 2006 and 2009. For this consistent set of 63 beaches, the percent of samples exceeding the standard decreased to 5 percent in 2009 from 6% in 2008, 9% in 2007, and 8% in 2006.

According to CMP staff, none of the counties participating in the Beach Watch program issue closures. Beach closures can only be initiated at the local level. The local governments with the authority to issue closures have not closed any beaches since the program was initiated.[1]

The EPA has information on water quality in Texas, including a fact sheet that notes that the leading problem in estuaries is bacteria that contaminate shellfish beds. Sixty-one percent of the surveyed estuarine waters fully support shellfishing use, 23% partially support this use, and 16% do not support shellfishing.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) maintains a website, Texas Water Science Center. This site is a valuable source of information including current projects, online reports, publications, and maps, real-time water conditions and educational outreach material for teachers and students.

Additional water quality information is available from the Texas Sea Grant website.

Storm Drains and Sewage Outfalls

Virtually all of the Texas coast is bordered by a barrier island system that separates the Gulf of Mexico from the bays. Although fishing activity is heavy in the bay systems, most swimming occurs on the Gulf beaches. The sewage-treatment plants (STPs) that have outfalls along the estuaries discharge into the bays or tributaries of the bays. There are few, if any, combined sewer and stormwater systems, although at times the STPs can have a bypass. Stormwater runoff and sewage treatment plant bypasses can adversely affect water quality in the bays and shellfish-harvesting areas. Matagorda Bay and bay systems in Matagorda County are closed periodically to shellfishing by the Texas Department of Health because of elevated coliform levels from stormwater runoff.[2]

Information from the Texas GLO states "Texas has no sewage treatment facilities located on the Gulf of Mexico shoreline. Although some beach front subdivisions drain toward the Gulf, current development regulations require new developments to drain away from the beach."

Additional information on sewage treatment plants may be obtained from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the permitting agency for sewage treatment plants. Their website is: http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/nav/permits/water_qual.html

The Texas Coastal Nonpoint Source Pollution Control Program (Coastal NPS Program) is outlined in a two-volume set. Volume I, available via the CMP Website in Adobe Acrobat format presents the program and response to public comments: http://www.glo.state.tx.us/coastal/nps.html. Volume II contains a list of the applicable laws, regulations, and programs that will be used to carry out the program. Maps from this document, in GIF or JPEG format, are also viewable online.


Water Quality Contact (Runoff and Outfalls)

Craig Davis
Texas Beach Watch Coordinator
Grant Program & Support
Texas General Land Office
Phone: (512) 463-8126
Email:

Perception of Causes

NRDC reported:

Causes of Closings and Advisories: For the 152 events lasting six consecutive weeks or less, 99% (229) of closing/ advisory days in 2009 were due to monitoring that revealed elevated bacteria levels, and 1% (2) were preemptive (i.e., issued without waiting for monitoring results) due to heavy rainfall.


Reported sources of beachwater contamination: 24% (55) of closing/advisory days were from stormwater runoff, 71% (164) were from unknown sources of contamination, 2% (5) were from wildlife, and 3% (7) were from other sources of contamination.

GLO considers non-point source pollution to be the greatest regional threat to coastal water quality.[3]

The 2004 Texas Draft Integrated List comprised information only on specific, targeted water bodies. According to the report, all gulf waters fully support recreational use.

According to Texas’ Draft 2002 305(b) report, 1,727 square miles of estuaries were assessed. Seventy-nine percent fully supported all designated uses. The major pollutants of the other 21 percent were high concentrations of pathogens, dioxin, and metals. Industrial point sources are the largest known source of impairment. Because officials have issued an advisory warning the public not to eat king mackerel after the fish were found to have high concentrations of mercury, the entire Gulf of Mexico (3,879 square miles) does not support overall designated uses. Surface water-quality monitoring of the gulf for other indicators has expanded since 2000 to assess aquatic life in 37.1 percent of surveyed waters, contact recreation in 48.1 percent, and general uses in 37.1 percent. All three uses were found to be fully supported, although the aquatic-use criterion employed was dissolved oxygen alone, and oyster waters were unassessed.

The 305(b) report assessed 17,575 miles of rivers and streams for support of designated uses. About 79.7 percent fully support all designated uses. Impairment of the remaining 20.3 percent is due largely to high bacterial densities, elevated dissolved mineral concentrations, and low dissolved oxygen concentrations. The largest known source of contamination is municipal sewage plants, which are responsible for 22 percent of impaired stream or river miles. Urban runoff, agricultural sources, and natural sources also contribute. The report assessed 1,574,071 acres of reservoirs and lakes. Seventy percent fully support all designated uses. For the remainder, elevated mercury concentrations in fish tissue, low or high pH values, and elevated average concentrations of dissolved minerals are the most common causes of impairment. Mercury particles from atmospheric deposition are the largest known source of impairment, while the report claims that “other sources remain largely unknown.”

In September 2009 the Gulf Restoration Network gave Texas a grade of C- (best of all the Gulf states) on how well they implement the Clean Water Act and protect their state waters and public health. The Clean Up Your Act report grades the Gulf States on issues such as establishing water quality standards, policies to prevent Dead Zone-causing pollution, public health protection, and facilitating public participation in the policy-making process.

Public Education

Texas conducted an extensive outreach campaign about its beachwater quality monitoring program in 2009. The GLO launched a revised Beach Watch website in March 2009, and banner ads ran on selected websites identified as beach tourist websites and on major media websites in Texas’ urban areas in early 2009. In April of 2009, the GLO began a public service announcement campaign with television, radio, and web banner ads that will continue through Labor Day. A continuing outreach program is the Texas Adopt-A-Beach Program. The program strives to raise public awareness, educate citizens about the sources of debris, and generate public support for state, national and international action to clean up coastal waters.

The Texas Coastal NPS Program was mentioned above. The Coastal Management Program funds projects through the Texas Coastal Nonpoint Source Pollution Control Program (Coastal NPS Program), such as storm drain stenciling, materials in Spanish on the responsible use of landscaping chemicals and fertilizers, development of the Clean Texas Marinas Program through Sea Grant, and a project by the Pollution Prevention office of Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi to increase awareness of stormwater/nonpoint source pollution issues and to assist Coastal Bend governments and businesses with development of nonpoint source pollution prevention programs. The Land Office is also developing a coloring book on nonpoint source pollution.

Addressing the connection between water quality and land use is the primary goal of the Texas Coastal Watershed Program. Using the Sea Grant and Land Grant extension model, the Watershed Program educates and assists local decision makers on planning to protect land, implementing low impact development, and embracing density as a critical element of smart coastal growth that balances economic growth with environmental protection. The Program is engaged in projects ranging from the establishment of an urban wetland to treat storm water runoff in Houston to planning for a more walkable main street in a small coastal town.

The approach of the Texas Coastal Watershed Program embraces the idea that where development is occurring, it can be designed and constructed in ways that minimize impacts to coastal natural resources and water quality. Fortunately for Texas, urban patterns that enable more land preservation are also demanded by citizens seeking better places to live with more community interactions. Therefore, the Watershed Program is promoting smarter coastal growth that emulates the look and feel of our oldest and most beloved cities, such as Charleston, SC. Outcomes sought include minimizing impervious surfaces (e.g. asphalt and concrete) and imitating nature wherever possible.

Substantial additional public education information can be found on the TCEQ website.

Education for Citizens and Teachers:

The Educator's Guide to Marine Debris, Southeast and Gulf of Mexico was produced by COSEE SE, various Sea Grant organizations and others.

The five U.S. Gulf of Mexico States — Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas — formed the Gulf of Mexico Alliance in 2004 to increase regional collaboration and enhance the ecological and economic health of the Gulf of Mexico region. The Alliance is focused on the following priority areas:

  • Water Quality
  • Habitat Conservation and Restoration
  • Ecosystem Integration and Assessment
  • Nutrients & Nutrient Impacts
  • Coastal Community Resilience
  • Environmental Education

In addition, the Gulf of Mexico Alliance is deeply concerned about the potential environmental impacts the BP oil spill incident on the Gulf Coast region. Each Gulf state is implementing an emergency response plan, and due to the strong Gulf States alliance, agencies are coordinating to address the uncertain future of the region in the wake of the oil spill. Ongoing activities of the Alliance will support future mitigation actions related to water quality and the habitats impacted by this incident.

General Reference Documents and Websites

EPA has compiled several NPS (Nonpoint Source) Outreach Products that are a selection of television, radio, and print products on nonpoint source pollution that have been developed by various agencies and organizations around the country. They are good examples of outreach in the mass media. Also see What You Can Do.

NOAA, in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, International City/County Management Association and Rhode Island Sea Grant, has released an interagency guide that adapts smart growth principles to the unique needs of coastal and waterfront communities. Smart Growth for Coastal and Waterfront Communities builds on existing smart growth principles to offer 10 coastal and waterfront-specific guidelines that help manage development while balancing environmental, economic, and quality of life issues.


Footnotes

  1. Tammy Brooks, Program Specialist, TCMP. Surfrider State of the Beach survey response. January 27, 2003.
  2. Natural Resources Defense Council 2003 Testing the Waters Report.
  3. Tammy Brooks, Program Specialist, TCMP. Surfrider State of the Beach survey response. December 2003.



State of the Beach Report: Texas
Texas Home Beach Description Beach Access Water Quality Beach Erosion Erosion Response Beach Fill Shoreline Structures Beach Ecology Surfing Areas Website
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