We have conducted freshwater in- 

 flow and field studies in the 

 Nueces-Corpus Christi estuaries 

 and have an ongoing freshwater 

 inflow study in the Matagorda 

 Bay system. These studies, 

 costing over $1.2 million, will 

 assist us in providing techni- 

 cally sound recommendations on 

 freshwater inflow needs of se- 

 lected estuaries. We believe 

 that the best possible technical 

 information and methods should 

 be made available to state and 

 Federal agencies and to persons 

 responsible for making decisions 

 on freshwater inflow. 



We are particularly concerned 

 with the effects of industrial 

 development and water use in 

 rivers that flow into the Gal- 

 veston Bay ecosystem. If we 

 can conserve a significant part 

 of the fish and wildlife habitat 

 in the biologically productive 

 Galveston Bay ecosystem, we will 

 have accomplished much. We be- 

 lieve that a comprehensive water 

 management plan that considers 

 industrial, urban, agricultural, 

 and fish and wildlife needs 

 should be prepared for this 

 heavily populated growing area. 

 If such a plan is properly pre- 

 pared and accepted by State, 

 Federal, and local governments, 

 it would assist everyone in 

 carrying out their responsibili- 

 ties for preserving this impor- 

 tant estuarine habitat. More 

 important, it would make the 

 Houston-Galveston area a more 

 attractive place to live in 

 and enjoy. 



The Service is going to continue 

 to exercise all measures within its 

 power to ensure that adequate fresh 



water is provided to sustain the 

 estuarine ecosystems on the Texas 

 coast . 



Probably no estuary in the 

 United States has been changed more 

 by man than the San Francisco Bay. 

 The ecosystem extends from San Fran- 

 cisco Bay to the Sacramento-San 

 Joaquin Delta. The degradation pro- 

 cess in the area started with hy- 

 draulic gold mining in the 1800' s. 

 Next, tidelands were filled for urban 

 and industrial development. Pollution 

 from the growing population and from 

 industry intensified the problem. 

 Finally, increases in agriculture and 

 urban development led to massive wa- 

 ter diversion. The bay ecosystem was 

 impacted by a combination of reduced 

 volume of freshwater inflow, filling 

 in of the bay, and reduced water 

 quality. The bay ecosystem provides 

 recreational, scenic and aesthetic 

 benefits to over 5 million urban and 

 suburban residents. The inflow into 

 the bay is now only half of the nat- 

 ural amount and it is expected that 

 the inflow will decrease by another 

 50 percent by the year 2000. 



Fish and wildlife resources and 

 habitats have decreased significant- 

 ly: 



In the San Joaquin River the en- 

 tire spring chinook salmon run 

 has been lost and the fall run 

 is only 10 percent of its his- 

 torical size. The chinook sal- 

 mon run in the Sacramento River 

 is about 40 percent of its size 

 in 1953. 



Between 1960 and 1979, the 

 striped bass population has de- 

 creased by over 50 percent. Wa- 

 ter diversion and saltwater in- 

 trusion are the assumed causes 

 of this decline. 



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