Table 3.12. Direct and Total* Economic Impact from the Ports of Houston, 1986 and Galveston 
1981 b . 
Direct Total 
Port of 
Galveston 
Port of 
Houston 
Port of 
Galveston 
Port of 
Houston 
Revenue 
(Million $) 
638 
2,976 
N/A 
N/A 
Employment 
(Man-years) 
4,138 
28,650 
6,993 c 
47,781 
Income 
184 
712 
405 d 
1,567 
(Million $) 
“Total = direct and indirect 
b Values in 1986 dollars 
“"Secondary employment derived using a 1.69 employment multiplier for waterborne transpor¬ 
tation (TDWR, 1983) 
d Secondaiy income derived using a 2.2 income multiplier recommended by the U.S. Depart¬ 
ment of Commerce Maritime Administration (1980) 
Source: 
1. Port of Galveston figures were derived from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District, 1987. 
2. Port of Houston figures from 16. 
Other Uses 
Housing 
The four counties surrounding Galveston Bay contained 1,135,271 (77 percent) of the housing units 
in the 16 Texas coastal counties in 1980 (17). This pattern was much the same in 1960 when these 
counties contained 487,076 (67 percent) of the housing units coastwide (18). According to recent data 
collected by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, Chambers, Brazoria, Galveston and Harris counties 
accounted for 66 percent of the building permits issued for single and multi-unit housing on the Texas 
coast between January-October 1987 (19). 
Military 
One of eight new Homeport naval installations nationwide will be developed in Galveston 
beginning in 1988. Eventually, two frigates, two mine sweepers and one patrol boat will be based 
there. Federal and local investment in facility development will be approximately $33 million and $3 
million, respectively. Direct expenditures for ship repairs and related business in the local area will 
be an estimated $11 million with a total economic impact on the region of $25 million. The payroll for 
the estimated 650 persons (ship and land-based personnel) associated with the base will be 
approximately $16.5 million (20). 
Galveston Bay in National Perspective 
When Galveston Bay is compared with thirteen other estuarine areas studied by Nixon (21), it 
ranks eighth in watershed area and fourth in surface area (behind Chesapeake Bay, Long Island 
Sound and Delaware Bay, respectively) (Table 3.13). Of 92 estuarine areas in the U.S., only 25 had a 
larger total drainage area than Galveston Bay (22). In terms of number of square kilometers devoted 
to industrial activity (light to heavy manufacturing) among the 92 estuarine areas studied, the Gal¬ 
veston Bay area (24) ranked third behind San Francisco Bay (337) and San Pedro Bay (249) (7). Al¬ 
though the Galveston Bay area was ranked among the top six estuarine areas studied by Nixon in 
terms of 1980 population levels (Figure 3.1), population density is not high due to the extensive acre¬ 
age in the four counties adjacent to the Bay (Table 3.14). It was impossible to make comparisons be¬ 
tween bay systems regarding the economic value of various uses due to the lack of available 
standardized data. 
61 
