Regional Wastewater Management for the
Houston Ship Channel and
Galveston Bay
L. JACK DAVIS, General Manager
Gulf Coast Waste Disposal Authority
RAY C. HAWS, Vice President
Bernard Johnson Incorporated
INTRODUCTION
The Galveston Bay Estuary is a unique aquatic system surrounded by highly complex
and varied development. The shallow bays constitute a major area for commercial and
sport fishing, including shell fishing and oystering. The shallow bays are a major shrimp
nursery for the Gulf of Mexico.
The Houston Ship Channel, beginning at Bolivar Rhodes near Galveston, dissects
Galveston Bay and goes inland at Morgan's Point terminating some fifty miles from the
point of beginning at the turning basin near downtown Houston. The port is of national
significance, being third largest in annual tonnage, handling many types of general cargo as
well as petroleum, petroleum products and petrochemicals of various types.
The population of the area is approaching three million and growing rapidly. It is
projected that by the year 2000 there will be approximately 6 million people in this area.
However, there are many large sparsely populated areas in the three counties surrounding
Galveston Bay. I n the 8-county area surrounding the bay there are 280 municipal discharges
and 470 industrial discharges for a grand total of 750 point source discharges. The majority
of these discharges are in the two counties of Harris and Galveston. Of all these point source
discharges there are only about 146 exceeding 50.000 gallons per day. These heavy
concentrations of point source discharges are in the area of the Houston Ship Channel and
in the area of Texas City.
The major areas of concern throughout the estuary with respect to pollution are Lake
Houston constituting one of the sources of water supply for the City of Houston, Cedar
Bayou tributary to Trinity Bay, the Houston Ship Channel tributary to Galveston Bay,
Clear Lake, Dickinson Bayou, Texas City, Chocolate Bayou, Galveston, Annahuac and the
Tri-City Beach Area. The heavy concentration of industry, as would be expected, is along
the Houston Ship Channel. Most of the heavy discharges are located above the confluence
of the Houston Ship Channel with the San Jacinto River, although Humble Oil and
Refining Company and Enjay Chemical Company are located downstream at Baytown.
Over the last four years extensive sampling and analytical work has been conducted
throughout the estuary and tributaries in order to determine the water quality in all areas in
order that this information be available for planning purposes. Although vast areas of the
estuary had been banned for the harvesting of shellfish because of poor bacteriological
quality for some time it was not until about 1968 that significant quantitative information
began to be developed regarding the total pollution load on the estuary and the sources
thereof. Early in 1969 information coming out of the Galveston Bay Study indicated a total
BOD load on the Houston Ship Channel of approximately 350,000 pounds per day with an
additional 103,000 pounds per day entering the bay in the Texas City area with the final 10
percent of the loading being scattered out throughout the shores of the estuary. The
cumulative loading passing Morgan's Point was estimated at 350,000 pounds per day.
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