Transcript Restoring Environment- Maintaining Infrastructure; Tradeoffs for Long Term Sustainability Bob Stokes President Galveston Bay Foundation [email protected] (281) 332-3381

Restoring Environment- Maintaining
Infrastructure; Tradeoffs for Long
Term Sustainability
Bob Stokes
President
Galveston Bay Foundation
[email protected]
(281) 332-3381
Do you know Galveston Bay?
 Averages 7-feet deep
 660 square miles of
water

4 counties: Brazoria,
Harris, Chambers,
Galveston
 24,000 square mile
watershed
Galveston Bay Foundation
Mission:
To preserve, protect, and enhance the
natural resources of Galveston Bay and its
tributaries for present users and for posterity.
Four target areas:
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Advocacy
Conservation
Education
Research
Galveston Bay Infrastructure
Issues
Two Main Issues of Balance between
Environment and Infrastructure
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Massive Industrial Complex
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•
Galveston Bay hosts nearly 1/2 of the total
petrochemical manufacturing and 1/3 of the
petroleum refining in the U.S.
Navigation Needs of that Complex

~50 mile channel from Port of Houston to Gulf
of Mexico
Subsidence Caused by Groundwater
and Oil & Gas Extraction
Domestic and Industrial Water Needs
Highly Accelerated Rates of Subsidence
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•
Loss of over 35,000 acres of wetlands
Recognition of Problem and Behavioral
Change
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More surface water, less groundwater
Habitat Restoration

Identified as number one goal in Galveston Bay
National Estuary Program Galveston Bay Plan
GBF Habitat Restoration
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Actively restoring habitat since 1991
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Diverse habitat types: wetland, sea grass, & reef
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Working directly with local citizens for
“community based” habitat restoration
Burnet Bay Restoration Project
Burnet Bay
Burnet Bay Plantings with Support
from Local Industry
Galveston Bay
Infrastructure:
Major
Navigation
Channels
 Houston Ship
Channel
 Gulf
Intracoastal
Waterway
Houston Ship Channel
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~50 mile channel from Port of Houston to
Gulf of Mexico
Much of the growth and development of
the Houston area is attributable to its
completion in 1914
Ship channel-related businesses support
more than 785,000 jobs throughout Texas
while generating nearly $118 billion of
statewide economic impact (Martin
Associates, 2007).
How to Balance Navigation
Needs and Environment?

Ultimate need for growth for capacity
and safety

Impacts from a wider and deeper
channel

How to mitigate those impacts?
Houston-Galveston Navigation
Channels Beneficial Uses Group
(“BUG”)

Coalition of 8 government agencies formed in
1990 to identify environmentally and
economically responsible ways to utilize the
dredged material
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BUG project goals:
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Create approximately 4,250 acres of intertidal salt
marsh in Galveston Bay
Create a 6-acre bird nesting and habitat island
Partially restore Redfish Island in Galveston Bay
Restore Goat Island in Buffalo Bayou
Construct 118 acres of oyster reefs
BUG Project: Evia Island
 6-acre island, one mile north of the Bolivar Peninsula
built using materials dredged from the expansion of
the Houston-Galveston Navigation Channels
 Peak elevation of 12 feet above mean low tide,
features a 250-foot beach and a lagoon area for
young birds
BUG Project: Bolivar Marsh
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Several hundred acres of intertidal salt marsh adjacent
to the north side of the Bolivar Peninsula
Levees constructed and shaped and erosion protection
(geotubes) positioned
Two of the three cells filled with dredge material, third
cell is partially filled and will be completed over the
next 20 years
GBF and volunteers planted here at Marsh Mania 2001
Gulf Intracoastal Waterway
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Important navigation artery in Texas
and along entire Gulf Coast
Erosion a significant problem along
GIWW around Galveston Bay
How to address erosion and avoid
negatively impacting waterway and
shipping?
Erosion Control Project on GIWW
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Construct rock breakwaters along 34,700 feet of
unprotected shoreline on the Anahuac NWR’s GIWW
shoreline
Adjoins with East Bay Shoreline Protection Project,
which recently completed 32,772 feet, or 6.21 miles, of
rock breakwaters
Barge access and placement similar to recent work at
McFaddin NWR