Bayous and Galveston Bay Report Card - With Additional Details
Water Recreation Safety (fecal bacteria):
Bayous: C
Galveston Bay: A
Action Items: Report sewage spills, collect pet waste, proper maintenance of septic and aerobic on-site sewage treatment, and pump out boat sewage in designated facilities
Dissolved Oxygen (aquatic life health):
Bayous: A
Galveston Bay: A
Action Items: preserve and restore habitats by planting native plants and removing invasive, exotic species; slow runoff by reducing paved areas, use rain gardens and rainfall harvesting
Phosphorus (eutrophication/ algae blooms):
Bayous: C
Galveston Bay: B
Action Items: Proper use of fertilizers, use of slow release and organic plant fertilizers; avoid or reduce phosphates in cleaning products
Nitrogen (eutrophication/ algae blooms):
Bayous: A
Galveston Bay: B
Action Items: Proper use of fertilizers, use of slow release and organic plant fertilizers Litter and Trash (wildlife entanglement/ingestion, aesthetics):
Bayous: I
Galveston Bay: I
Action Items: Participate in clean-ups, clean your surroundings, report littering and illegal dumping, dispose of trash properly and encourage others to do the same
Grades:
A = Excellent
B = Good
C = Adequate for now
D = Requires Action
F = Critical
I = Insufficient Data (since Texas does not measure floatable debris as a water quality standard in the manner it does other pollutants)
For additional details on this report card, see the Details below.
Additional details on the Galveston Bay conditions and grading methodology are at: www.galvbaygrade.org
To report pollution observations, see the link to the Galveston Bay Action Network at: http://galvbay.org/how-we-protect-the-bay/in-our-communities/galveston-bay-action-network/
This report card made possible by the partnership with:
The data reviewed for this report card was obtained from: Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
Texas General Land Office
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Texas Water Development Board
Texas Colonial Waterbird Society
Texas Department of State Health Services Additional Details: This report used the most recent data available from the source agencies: 2014.
Scoring Criteria:
Grade % Exceedance A 0-20 Fit for the Future B 21-40 Adequate for Now C 41-60 Maintained with Current Actions
D 61-80 Requires Action F 81-100 Critical Need I (insufficient data) Incomplete
Water Recreation Safety:
Galveston Bay system: C Galveston Bay: A Insufficient data if number of samples is below 10 Galveston Bay rivers and bayous: C
Total # of Total % of Total # of Samples (E. coli + GBEP Watersheds Exceedances (E. Exceedance Grade Entero) coli + Entero) (E. coli + Entero) Estuary 154 0 0% A Bay Total 314 20 6% A All System Total 1939 846 44% C GBEP Watersheds Addicks Reservoir 46 23 50% C Armand-Taylor Bayou 79 21 27% B Austin-Bastrop Bayou 34 20 59% C Barker Reservoir 26 10 38% B Brays Bayou 237 153 65% D Buffalo Bayou 202 140 69% D Cedar Bayou 21 8 38% B Chocolate Bayou 8 2 25% I Clear Creek 60 25 42% C Dickinson Bayou 45 21 47% C East Bay 2 0 0% I Greens Bayou 255 124 49% C Houston Ship Channel 212 87 41% C North Bay 5 1 20% I San Jacinto River 51 7 14% A Sims Bayou 126 73 58% C South Bay 12 6 50% C Trinity Bay 7 3 43% I Trinity River 12 0 0% A West Bay 50 23 46% C White Oak Bayou 135 79 59% C GBEP Watershed Total 1625 826 51% C
Dissolved Oxygen:
Dissolved Oxygen Galveston Bay system A Galveston Bay A Insufficient data if number of samples is below 10 Rivers and Bayous A
Tributary # of Samples # of Exceedance % of Exceedance Grade
Tidal 1265 192 15% A Non-tidal 833 47 6% A Tributary Totals 2098 239 11% A
Bay # of Samples # of Exceedance % of Exceedance
Estuary 547 9 2% A Bay Total 547 9 2% A All System Total 2645 248 9% A
GBEP Watersheds # of Samples # of Exceedance % of Exceedance Grade Addicks Reservoir 27 0 0% A Armand-Taylor Bayou 94 11 12% A Austin-Bastrop Bayou 53 12 23% B Barker Reservoir 15 0 0% A Brays Bayou 187 19 10% A Buffalo Bayou 167 14 8% A Cedar Bayou 29 3 10% A Chocolate Bayou 23 6 26% B Clear Creek 75 9 12% A Dickinson Bayou 65 16 25% B East Bay 7 0 0% I Greens Bayou 206 20 10% A Houston Ship Channel 557 90 16% A North Bay 28 0 0% A San Jacinto River 160 2 1% A Sims Bayou 121 16 13% A South Bay 19 1 5% A Trinity Bay 24 6 25% B Trinity River 79 0 0% A West Bay 63 11 17% A White Oak Bayou 99 3 3% A GBEP Watershed Total 2098 239 11% A
Nitrogen:
Nitrogen Galveston Bay system A 2014 Galveston Bay B Insufficient data if number of samples is below 10 Rivers and Bayous A
# of % of Tributary # of Samples Grade Exceedance Exceedance
Tidal 523 63 12% A Non-tidal 766 176 23% B Tributary Totals 1289 239 19% A
# of % of Bay # of Samples Exceedance Exceedance
Estuary 151 31 21% B Bay Total 151 31 21% B All System Total 1440 270 19% A
# of % of GBEP Watersheds # of Samples Grade Exceedance Exceedance
Addicks Reservoir 31 12 39% B Armand-Taylor Bayou 66 2 3% A Austin-Bastrop Bayou 29 1 3% A Barker Reservoir 17 5 29% B Brays Bayou 170 71 42% C Buffalo Bayou 154 11 7% A Cedar Bayou 16 1 6% A Chocolate Bayou 9 0 0% I Clear Creek 46 12 26% B Dickinson Bayou 39 2 5% A East Bay 2 0 0% I Greens Bayou 193 28 15% A Houston Ship Channel 191 44 23% B North Bay 5 0 0% I San Jacinto River 51 0 0% A Sims Bayou 106 34 32% B South Bay 9 0 0% I Trinity Bay 8 0 0% I Trinity River 11 0 0% A West Bay 41 1 2% A White Oak Bayou 95 15 16% A GBEP Watershed Total 1289 239 19% A
Phosphorus:
Galveston Bay system C Galveston Bay B Insufficient data if number of samples is below 10 Rivers and Bayous C
# of % of Tributary # of Samples Grade Exceedance Exceedance
Tidal 502 125 25% B Non-tidal 757 421 56% C Tributary Totals 1259 546 43% C # of % of Bay # of Samples Exceedance Exceedance
Estuary 159 53 33% B Bay Total 159 53 33% B All System Total 1418 599 42% C
# of % of GBEP Watersheds # of Samples Grade Exceedance Exceedance
Addicks Reservoir 31 25 81% F Armand-Taylor Bayou 62 2 3% A Austin-Bastrop Bayou 28 2 7% A Barker Reservoir 17 14 82% F Brays Bayou 169 103 61% D Buffalo Bayou 150 71 47% C Cedar Bayou 17 3 18% A Chocolate Bayou 8 0 0% I Clear Creek 43 23 53% C Dickinson Bayou 36 0 0% A East Bay 1 0 0% I Greens Bayou 191 135 71% D Houston Ship Channel 187 33 18% A North Bay 4 0 0% I San Jacinto River 51 0 0% A Sims Bayou 105 72 69% D South Bay 9 1 11% I Trinity Bay 6 0 0% I Trinity River 11 0 0% A West Bay 40 5 13% A White Oak Bayou 93 57 61% D GBEP Watershed Total 1259 546 43% C