James Messina guides his boat under the state Highway 3 bridge on Dickinson Bayou. Failing septic systems are blamed for high bacteria levels and low dissolved oxygen levels in the bayou.
DICKINSON — Galveston County Health District’s practice of requiring more advanced septic systems to treat wastewater is a step in the right direction toward curing what ails Dickinson Bayou, officials said.
As bayou residents hotly contest the permitting of new wastewater treatment plants, officials argue the eradication of failing septic tanks could help reduce bacteria and increase oxygen levels more than any other measure.
Meanwhile, Roger Miranda, a geoscientist with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, said the state’s attempt to set guidelines for pollutants permitted to enter the tidewater was set back at least five years.
The bayou’s depleted dissolved oxygen levels and bacteria counts miss the mark for clean-water standards, but the effect on marine life from the lack of oxygen isn’t known, Miranda has said.
When the commission submitted its total maximum daily load study for dissolved oxygen to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the agency ordered an aquatic life use analysis, Miranda said during an October meeting at Dickinson City Hall.
That analysis, which would look more closely at what needs to be done to sustain aquatic life, consists of collecting samples for two years and modeling and revising the data for another two years before it’s considered for adoption.
“That would happen no sooner than 2015,” Miranda said.
Bacteria Pollution
The majority of bayou testing stations show bacteria levels that exceed clean-water standards nearly 90 percent of the time, Miranda has said.
The commission tested the bayou at different sites for the presence of E. coli and enterococci, which are indicators of how much fecal pollution is present in the bayou that extends from Brazoria County to Dickinson Bay.
The findings were announced last year after the commission collected samples from 1999 to 2006.
The state expects to adopt a pollutants cap on bacteria next year, which would then be forwarded to the EPA for approval, Miranda said.
Failing Septic Tanks
There are hundreds of septic systems within 1 mile of watershed creeks that drain into the bayou, Charriss York, of the Texas AgriLife Extension Service with Texas A&M University, said.
“We can’t tell they’re all failing or what percentage is failing, but it is fairly likely they are failing,” York said.
The soil around the bayou is mostly unsuitable for standard septic systems, meaning advanced aerobic systems that treat sewage with chlorine are favorable, York said. The aerobic systems, however, are more costly, York said.
The Galveston County Health District permits the instillation of new septic systems, Kurt Koopmann, the district’s spokesman, said. Whether the county will permit a standard system or demand an advanced one depends on the type of soil at the site.
“I think the advanced systems require a yearly inspection,” York said. “And the numbers show the health district is moving in the direction to get people to put in advanced systems, and that’s a step in the right direction.”
The district encourages residents to report failing systems, and if the system isn’t corrected, the owner could be summoned to court, Koopmann said.
Regional Plants Preferred
Another issue affecting the bayou’s health is the state’s permitting of pocket wastewater treatment plants rather than requiring new development to tap into a regional system, York said.
“Regional wastewater facilities have people working on site, and if a problem arises, it’s more likely to get fixed quickly,” York said. “But they cost a lot of money.”
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By The Numbers
Number of septic system permits granted by the Galveston County Health District:
