Environmental report: Area water is polluted

Results of a Natural Resources Defense Council report on beach water quality in Texas were released and discussed Wednesday by Environment Texas, a citizen-based environmental advocacy program.

Pollution-related advisory days for beaches in Texas more than tripled, rising from 231 in 2009 to 704 in 2010, the report said. Eight percent of water samples in the state and 4 percent in Galveston County exceeded state pollution standards.

Speakers at the Stewart Beach event stressed that the increase in pollution needed to be addressed in order to keep Galveston beaches safe and hospitable.

“When families are at the beach this summer, they should not have to worry about getting sick from pollution in the water,” said Scott Driskill, outreach director for Environment Texas. “Texans should not have to choose between swimming in water with sewage (contamination) and staying out of the water.”

Beaches in Galveston County had 83 advisory days due to pollution in the water last year.

Texas does not close beaches due to pollution, according to the Galveston County Health District’s Public Information Officer Kurt Koopmann. When water is deemed to have high pollution or bacteria levels, an advisory is posted on the health district website, and signs are posted on the affected beach, warning swimmers of the potential hazards.

Swimmers who venture into highly polluted water can face serious medical consequences, according to Dr. Glen Mayhall, a member UTMB’s Infectious Disease division.

A strain of bacteria known as vibrio vulnificus is responsible for many of the ocean-related infections at UTMB, Mayhall said.

The bacteria typically enter the body through a break in skin.

“This is a pretty virulent microorganism that will invade skin, soft tissue, and muscle and really requires immediate care,” he said.

Other potentially dangerous bacteria can survive in the ocean, but are often less common than the vibrio, Mayhall said.

Mayhall was unaware of the number of vibrio cases at UTMB last year, but said that it was “not uncommon.” The infection is treatable with antibiotics.

Although not everyone who goes swimming with a cut or scrape will be infected, it is still important to heed the health department’s advisories, Mayhall said.

“If they’ve just said the water has higher counts of bacteria in it, I would avoid going swimming,” Mayhall said. “That’s not something I would want to take my family into.”

The Texas City Dike was found to have the worst pollution, with 20 percent of water samples exceeding state pollution standards. Samples taken from Dellanera Park, Galveston Island State Park, Indian Beach, Rollover Pass East and Spanish Grant/Bermuda Beach were the cleanest, with 0 percent exceeding state standards and no closing or advisory days.

Much of the pollution comes from “storm water,” or precipitation runoff that contains toxins or waste, Driskill said.

“The problem is when it hits the ground, it mixes with all the pollutants we’ve left there,” he said. “When it falls on our roadways, there is all kinds of oil and grease from cars, and the water will mix with that and wash that oil and grease right out into the bay.”

Storm water also can become contaminated when it runs over an over-fertilized yard or overflows a sewage system. Last year’s floods around the Rio Grande may be partially responsible for this year’s advisory spike, Driskill said.

“The best way to protect swimmers from beach water pollution is to prevent beach water pollution,” Driskill said.

Green infrastructure

Bob Stokes, president of the Galveston Bay Association, said that a process called “green infrastructure” may be the best way to keep polluted runoff from flowing into the ocean.

Stokes encouraged homeowners to plant rain gardens, which contain vegetative swells to filter the water. Another idea was to use rain barrels to collect water.

“When we’re in a drought, like we have been, it’s great to capture the water that comes off your roof and use it to go water your plants or your yard,” Stokes said. This method can prevent the rain from becoming contaminated storm water, as well as help residents conserve water during the dryer seasons.

Marsh restoration is also an important step in the battle for clean beaches, Stokes said. The vegetation in the wetlands filters pollutants and prevents them from reaching the ocean. However, the Galveston Bay area has lost 35,000 acres of its marsh over the past 60 years.

“There are many reasons to restore that marsh. It’s a habitat for the birds and the fish, there’s erosion, and shoreline protection,” Stokes said. “And wetlands will naturally cleanse that storm water.”

Tom Linton, who works in the Department of Marine Sciences at TAMUG, spoke about the Park Board of Trustees’ most recent initiative to keep island beaches clear of trash and other pollutants. The park board has outfitted the trashcans on the beaches with banners that read “in the can, not the sand.”

“What we’re asking people to do is to put trash into the barrel so the people who come after you will have a clean beach to go to,” he said. “Little things mean a lot.”

Linton said he hoped the banners would keep visitors to Galveston from pitching trash into the water or leaving it on the beach.

“We love for you to come, we love you to bring your money,” he said. “But after you’ve left your money, don’t leave your trash.”

Despite the pollution increase, many areas in Galveston County are already working to decrease water pollution, Driskill said. League City recently received a grant of over $600,000 from the Clean Water Act to build a WaterSmart Park, which will include many of the green infrastructure elements the groups discussed, as well as providing education on water conservation.

“It’s a great example for the rest of Galveston County to show real world efforts of how this can work,” Driskill said.