Table 4.1. Existing and Proposed Development Projects Affecting Galveston Bay. 
Navigation Projects 
Texas City Channel Enlargement 
Galveston Channel Enlargement 
Houston Channel Enlargement 
Liberty Channel Enlargement 
Gulf Intracoastal Waterway Enlargement 
Galveston Home Port 
Water Development Projects 
New Reservoirs 
Wallisville Lake 
Bedias 
Lake Creek 
Tennessee Colony 
Existing Reservoirs — Interbasin Transfer of Waters 
Luce Bayou (Trinity River to San Jacinto basin) 
Toledo Bend (Sabine River to San Jacinto basin) 
Flood Control Projects 
Buffalo Bayou and Tributaries 
San Jacinto River and Tributaries 
Shoreline Development Projects 
Industrial Shoreline Development 
Resource Extraction, Bay and Onshore 
Waterfront Housing Development 
Galveston Island Causeway 
Private Property Development 
reductions in freshwater inflow to the bay system and its associated wetlands, and subsequent 
changes in bay salinity; (3) enlargement and maintenance of navigation channels as regards dredged 
material disposal, increased turbidity, resuspension of toxic or hazardous chemicals, and changes in 
bay salinity profiles; (4) loss of contiguous wetlands due to subsidence, erosion or shoreline 
development; (5) energy production in a bay environment; (6) comprehensive assessment of 
cumulative impacts; and (7) ecosystem interconnections. The impact of possible changes on salinity, 
productivity, eutrophication, and public health will be discussed below. It may be necessary to 
consider changes and developments within the entire bay watershed (see Appendix I), 360 miles long 
and as much as 100 miles wide, inhabited by nearly 6 million people. The important questions to ask 
are these. How much has past development influenced the bay? How will current and proposed 
projects affect the bay? What will be the cumulative impact on the bay of existing projects functioning 
at their design capacity plus the proposed future projects? 
Water Quality 
Water quality is affected by natural variations in chemical concentrations within a water body, 
the accidental or deliberate discharge of natural or synthetic chemicals, thermal discharges, and the 
distribution and abundance of pathogens. The diversion of water within a drainage for human 
purposes and the subsequent return of much of this water as wastewater effluent affects the minerals 
and nutrients transported by the water before and after human use. Suspended and dissolved solids 
are removed by water treatment before distribution to consumers, potentially affecting the concen¬ 
trations of micronutrients that would have reached the bay. Treated wastewaters contribute 
substantial amounts of macronutrients to the bay. A certain amount of nutrient enhancement will 
stimulate bay productivity; an excessive amount could lead to eutrophication and reduced produc¬ 
tivity, at least in those products most useful to man. 
The distribution of total organic carbon (TOC) is positively correlated with the percentage of mud 
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