GULF OF MEXICO 



571 



Gulf from the middle of Sabine Lake to High 

 Island. Beaumont and Port Arthur are largest 

 of the 9 cities with more than 80 percent of the 

 urban ])0[)u]ation. Petroleum, gas, cotton, and 

 other farm products are the basic materials for 

 industry which is concentrated near these cities. 

 Water use by industry is heavy and important; 

 tremendous quantities are used for rice irrigation 

 also. Coastal waters are used for sport fishing 

 and other recreation. Fish and shrimp are taken 

 commercially offshore. 



Total organic pollution load from all sources in 

 the area is estimated at 750,000 population equiv- 

 alent. There are 9 municipalities that have sewer 

 systems serving a total of 173,000 persons. 

 The following municipalities are without sewage 

 treatment facilities: 



Sewered 



Municipality: population 



Groves 2, 470 



Port Neches ,5, 450 



Lakeview 3, 080 



Griffing Park 2, 100 



Port Arthur 57, 400 



There are also wastes from industries of 

 various kinds and salt brines from oil fields. 

 Soil erosion over the drainage area has resulted in 

 damaging silt deposits in both the Neches River 

 and Sabine Lake. (See Sabine River Area.) 

 The river had a natural 60-foot deep channel 

 upstream to Beaumont in 1876 but now requires 

 continuous dredging to maintain a 25-foot channel. 



At times fishing has been damaged by effects of 

 organic waste pollution. Although salt brines 

 have occasional effects upon irrigation water, 

 effects upon resources of the Gulf are not known. 



TRINITY RIVER AREA (18) 



The Trinity River Area includes drainage from 

 Livingston downstream on the Trinity River, 

 from Hiunble downstream on the San Jacinto, 

 and drainage from the area surrounding Galveston 

 Bay. The area fronts on the Gulf between High 

 Island and the southern tip of West Bay. The 

 drainage basin is predominantly agricultural ex- 

 cept for the Houston-Galveston area where a 

 growing variety of manufacturing industries has 

 been developed. About 65 percent of the popula- 

 tion of the Texas Gulf area is concentrated about 

 this industrial development. Petroleum and 

 chemical industi-ies are prominent. 



Watercourses are used for public and industrial 

 water supplies; Galveston Bay for navigation and 



for fishing to a limited degree. In the vicinity of 

 Galveston, Gulf waters are popular for sport 

 fishing, bathing, boating, and other recreation. 

 Galveston is an important shrimp landing port. 



All but one of the sewered municipalities, with 

 systems serving about 1 million persons, have 

 sewage treatment facilities. Most of these are 

 adequate. Although Galveston now has no treat- 

 ment facilities for a connected population of 70,000, 

 a plant is under construction. Because of 

 pollution from municipal wastes, that area of 

 Galveston Bay lying between a line extending 

 from Texas City along the dike to the point of the 

 ferry landing on Bolivar Peninsula as a northern 

 bountlary and the Galveston causeway as a 

 western boundary is closed to the taking of 

 shellfish. However, it is believed very few, if any, 

 shellfish are actually to be found in this area. 

 Industrial wastes also contribute to the pollution 

 problem, although there is little specific informa- 

 tion on wastes from the various industries or oil 

 fields. Galveston Bay receives an annual silt 

 load of 8.1 million tons from the Trinity River and 

 1.2 million tons from the San Jacinto. 



There has been a spectacular decline in Galves-. 

 ton Bay fishery resources during the past 60 .years 

 Since 1890 the catch dropped from moie than a 

 million pounds to only 336 pounds in 1948. 

 Pollution is considered an important contributory 

 factor. At the present time an extensive pollution 

 survey is being made of Galveston County waters 

 by the Texas State Department of Health in 

 cooperation with Galveston County. Fishing 

 has been seriously damaged in Buffalo Bayou by 

 sewage from Houston. 



BRAZOS RIVER AREA (19) 



The Brazos River Area includes drainage of the 

 Brazos and San Bernard Rivers from Rosenberg 

 toward the Gulf. At the coast, the area extends 

 between West Bay and Matagorda Bay. Popula- 

 tion is fairly low. Rosenberg, Bay City, and 

 Freeport are the principal cities. Industry of the 

 area has developed around petroleum and agri- 

 cultural products. Irrigation of rice and in- 

 dustrial and municipal water supplies are the 

 principal uses of fresh water. Coastal waters are 

 used for fishing and recreation. Freeport is an 

 important shrimp landing port. 



Most of the municipalities now have sewage 

 treatment facilities, but West Columbia, Velasco, 



