Galveston Bay Status and Trends Final Report 2017 2017 Status and Trends Report | 2 Prepared for: Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) Galveston Bay Estuary Program (GBEP) 17041 El Camino Real. Ste. 210 Houston, Texas 77058 Project Coordinator Lisa Marshall [email protected] Contract Number: 582-14-43083 Prepared By: Center for Texas Beaches and Shores (CTBS) Texas A&M University, Galveston (TAMUG) 200 Seawolf Parkway Galveston, Texas 77554 Prepared in Cooperation with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and United States Environmental Protection Agency This project has been funded wholly or in part by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under the assistance agreement 582-14-43083 to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The contents of this document do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Environmental Protection Agency, nor does the EPA endorse trade names or recommend the use of commercial products mentioned in this document. www.texascoastalatlas.com Center for Texas Beaches and Shores www.texascoastalatlas.com 2017 Status and Trends Report | 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................... 3 List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ 6 List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. 8 Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................... 9 Abbreviations .............................................................................................................................. 11 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 12 Project Significance and Background ....................................................................................... 13 Project Website ........................................................................................................................... 14 General Methodology ................................................................................................................. 16 Spatial Extent ........................................................................................................................................ 16 Data Sources and Analysis ................................................................................................................... 19 Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) .................................................................... 20 Exceedances .................................................................................................................................................. 23 Texas Parks and Wildlife Department................................................................................................ 23 Gill Nets ........................................................................................................................................................ 23 Trawls ............................................................................................................................................................ 24 Bag Seines ..................................................................................................................................................... 25 Oyster Dredge ............................................................................................................................................... 25 Catch per Unit Effort ..................................................................................................................................... 25 Hydrological Data ......................................................................................................................................... 26 General Land Office (GLO) ............................................................................................................... 27 Audubon Texas (AT) ......................................................................................................................... 28 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) .......................................................................................... 29 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ........................................................... 29 Quality Assurance................................................................................................................................. 29 TCEQ: ................................................................................................................................................ 29 TPWD: ............................................................................................................................................... 29 GLO: .................................................................................................................................................. 29 AT: ..................................................................................................................................................... 30 EPA: ................................................................................................................................................... 30 NOAA: ............................................................................................................................................... 30 Results, Observations, and Discussion ...................................................................................... 31 Nutrients ................................................................................................................................................ 31 General Status of Nutrients ................................................................................................................ 31 Detailed analysis of nutrients ............................................................................................................. 31 Total Phosphorus .......................................................................................................................................... 31 3- Orthophosphate (PO4 )................................................................................................................................. 35 Nitrogen ......................................................................................................................................................... 35 - Nitrite (NO2 ) ................................................................................................................................................. 39 Field Water Quality .............................................................................................................................. 44 General Status of Field Water Quality ............................................................................................... 44 Detailed Analysis of Field Water Quality .......................................................................................... 44 Center for Texas Beaches and Shores www.texascoastalatlas.com 2017 Status and Trends Report | 4 Salinity........................................................................................................................................................... 44 pH .................................................................................................................................................................. 45 Dissolved Oxygen .......................................................................................................................................... 48 Specific Conductance .................................................................................................................................... 49 Temperature .................................................................................................................................................. 51 Physical Variables................................................................................................................................. 52 General status of physical variables ................................................................................................... 52 Detailed analysis of physical variables .............................................................................................. 52 Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) ........................................................................................................... 52 Total Suspended Solids (TSS) ........................................................................................................................ 52 Total Organic Carbon (TOC) ........................................................................................................................ 55 Aromatic Organics and Pesticides in Sediment ................................................................................. 59 General Status of Aromatic Organics and Pesticides in Sediment ..................................................... 59 Detailed analysis of Aromatic Organics and Pesticides in Sediment ................................................. 59 Microbiological ....................................................................................................................................