Restoring Environment- Maintaining Infrastructure; Tradeoffs for Long Term Sustainability

Restoring Environment- Maintaining Infrastructure; Tradeoffs for

Long Term Sustainability

Bob StokesPresident

Galveston Bay Foundationbstokes@galvbay.org

(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: Advocacy Conservation Education Research

Galveston Bay InfrastructureIssues

Two Main Issues of Balance between Environment and Infrastructure

• Massive Industrial Complex 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 Groundwaterand Oil & Gas Extraction

Domestic and Industrial Water Needs

Highly Accelerated Rates of Subsidence

• Loss of over 35,000 acres of wetlands

Recognition of Problem and Behavioral Change

• More surface water, less groundwater

Habitat Restoration

Identified as number one goal in Galveston Bay National Estuary Program Galveston Bay Plan

GBF Habitat Restoration

Actively restoring habitat since 1991

Diverse habitat types: wetland, sea grass, & reef

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

~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 NavigationNeeds 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

BUG project goals:• 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 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

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

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