Tag: Beaches

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Disaster Aftermath, Flooding, Landscape, Montrose

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The retreat of floodwaters has revealed the extent of the silt that Harvey-triggered flooding deposited along Buffalo Bayou. A beachgoing reader sends Swamplot these pics of the new dust-colored landscapes that have taken shape along Buffalo Bayou Park and adjacent former green spaces.

The silt-covered bench shown above sits across Buffalo Bayou from the Houston Police Officers Memorial, near Glenwood Cemetery. Here’s a view from further back:

Silt Deposits

77007, 77019, Bayous and Waterways, Beaches, Buffalo Bayou, Buffalo Bayou Park, Disaster Aftermath, Flooding, Hurricane Harvey, Landscape, Montrose

04/21/17 12:30pm

Where Highway 87 Crumbled Before the Tide

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WHERE HIGHWAY 87 CRUMBLED BEFORE THE TIDE mcfaddin-erosion The part of Texas “[where] storms are what you talk about”Â is the subject of John Nova Lomax’sÂ dispatch this week in Texas MonthlyÂ — more specifically, the 16-mile stretch of coastÂ where the state gaveÂ up on rebuilding SHÂ 87 after the last of a series ofÂ hurricaneÂ washouts in the 1980s.Â Amid nude beach signage, dolphin carcasses, and the rusting remains of pipelines and 4-wheelers,Â Lomax meditates on the ideaÂ thatÂ theÂ battered stretch of coast,Â where Texas’s beaches and barrier islands begin dissolve away into a Louisiana-style tangle of eroding wetlands, “once functioned as a seawall: there was a natural ridgeline made of shells and sand that was used as a trail by Native Americans, then Spaniards, then Texans. Then the ridge was bulldozed and repurposed to grade Highway 87, the road that no longer exists — and the one bulwark against the sea was gone.” [Texas Monthly] Photo of eroding highway in McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge: US Fish and Wildlife Service

Beaches, Highways, Seawalls, Wetlands

Late Night Sand Slurry Action on an Expanding Galveston Beach

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Galveston

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Galveston Beach Sand Addition, January 2017

Galveston Beach Sand Addition, January 2017 The shot above capturesÂ the Saturday night scene along the Galveston seawall southwest of Stewart Beach, where bulldozers were pushing aroundÂ the gush of sand and waterÂ being piped in as part of the latest round ofÂ beach buildingÂ on the island. The crews were still at it around 9 pm;Â the shot below shows theÂ Pleasure PierÂ over-water amusement park still lit up in the distance to the west:

Seawall Spread

77550, Beaches, Galveston

Galveston

12/15/16 2:15pm

State Leaders Look To Ban Proposed Galveston Bag Ban, Stop Local California-ization

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STATE LEADERS LOOK TO BAN PROPOSED GALVESTON BAG BAN, STOP LOCAL CALIFORNIA-IZATION Members of Galveston’s city council expect to vote next year on a ban on plastic bags, writes Harvey Rice this week — and also expect theÂ stateÂ government to try to overturn that ban, whether by lawsuit or through new legislation. Proponents of the ban note that the bags frequently make their way into the water around the island, where they may start new careers decorating the local beaches or killing birds and turtles that try to eat them. Rice notes thatÂ topÂ members of the state government believe, however, that the bigger problemÂ is Texas cities being “California-ized” (as governor Greg Abbott called it) by their own locally-developed rules; this include theÂ 2014 DentonÂ fracking ban that inspired a no-local-oil-and-gas-regulations-allowed law last session,Â invalidating dozens of older municipalÂ ordinances around the state.Â Attorney general Ken Paxton has also sued Brownsville over a fee on retailer bag use, andÂ supports the ongoing lawsuit that put the brakes on Laredo’s recent bag ban (which in turn caused Port Aransas to quietly stop enforcing its own ban, until the Texas supreme courtÂ weighs in). The Chronicle‘s editorial board also notes that state senator Bob Hall from Edgewood in Northwest Houston has already filed a bill for the upcoming legislativeÂ session aimed at eliminating all local bag rules. [Houston Chronicle] Photo of Galveston seagulls:Â Russell Hancock via Swamplot Flickr Pool

Animals, Beaches, City Ordinances, Galveston, Lawsuits, State Laws, Trash

06/24/16 9:15am

Excessive Galveston Beach Bacteria Probably Not Leg-Threatening, Just Fecal, Say Officials

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EXCESSIVE GALVESTON BEACH BACTERIA PROBABLY NOT LEG-THREATENING, JUST FECAL, SAY OFFICIALS Galveston Island High Bacteria Levels Scott Packard assuresÂ KHOU this week that theÂ beach advisories put out by the Galveston County Health District latelyÂ aren’t related to flesh-eating strains of Vibrio bacteriaÂ — the agency has been fielding concerned phone calls in the wake ofÂ a Jacinto CityÂ man’s ongoing hospitalization and forced amputation due to a suspected Vibrio infection following a swim in Galveston with an open wound. ButÂ direct infection from seawater contact, while a perennial occurrenceÂ inÂ Gulf Coast states, is nonetheless extraordinarily rare, Packard says. Rather, theÂ beach advisories reflect above-standard measuremensÂ of run-of-the-millÂ fecal bacteria: â€œTypically after periods of heavy rainsÂ [in] any recreational or coastal area, rain water will wash cattle waste, pet waste and some sewage overflows into the Gulf through rivers and streams, and that will make the levels spike for typically a day or so.” [KHOU; previously on Swamplot] Galveston Island sites with high bacteria levels: Texas General Land Office

Bacteria, Beaches, Galveston, Galveston-Beaches, Pollution

Meanwhile

12/09/15 4:35pm

A Seawall in Canada Takes a Different Approach to Combating Coastal Erosion

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A SEAWALL IN CANADA TAKES A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO COMBATING COASTAL EROSION Meanwhile, in Vancouver: Those familiar with Galveston’s frequent sand replenishment projects likely know that flat seawalls can exacerbate beach erosion by reflecting wave energy that would dissipate more readily in a natural sandy setting.Â In response so-called king tides pummeling the coast of Vancouver, a Canadian landscape artist collaborated with a biologist and engineers to address beach erosion in a new way. Blending principles of ecology, hydrology, and aesthetics, Metamorphous incorporates boulders, plant life, and an angular a steel structure intended to rust away altogether in less than 100 years. The functional public art piece slows the flow of water as it rushes inland, causing sand to be deposited on the beach for the first time in resident memory. [Citylab]

Beaches, Erosion, Flooding, Galveston, Meanwhile, Public Art

Comments

11/08/10 9:00pm

Comment of the Day: We’re Under Your Beach House, Grillin’ Your Burgerz

Galveston, Lawsuits, Quicklink

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COMMENT OF THE DAY: WE’RE UNDER YOUR BEACH HOUSE, GRILLIN’ YOUR BURGERZ “It may appear that the homeowner ‘won’ this case, but read the law again. Texas law allows anyone to place a blanket on the beach, right up to the vegetation line, even if itâ€™s an intrusion on the privacy of a seaside home. Basically, you can have a cookout under the house, park your car, spread out, whatever, and the homeowner has zero ability to do anything about it, as the home is within the vegetation boundary.” [mikeyyc, commenting on Texas Supreme Court: Private Properties Can Erode Public Beaches]

Beaches, Comments, Erosion, Galveston, Lawsuits

Development Restrictions

11/05/10 6:30pm

Texas Supreme Court: Private Properties Can Erode Public Beaches

Galveston, Quicklink

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TEXAS SUPREME COURT: PRIVATE PROPERTIES CAN ERODE PUBLIC BEACHES The state’s high court ruled today in favor of Californian Carol Severance, whose rent house on Kennedy Dr. in West Galveston found itself in front of the vegetation line after Hurricane Rita hit in 2006. The Texas Supreme Court ruled that the state can’t claim an easement on her property — but if the same topography had resulted over a longer period of time, the easement would be okay: “Texas law allows anyone to place a blanket on the beach, right up to the vegetation line, even if it’s an intrusion on the privacy of a seaside home. But in a split decision, the court found that the state’s policy of ‘rolling easements’ — the ever-shifting border between public and private land — does not apply when it’s moved by a storm. At the same time, the court held that policy is justifiable in cases of erosion, which is gradual.” [Houston Chronicle; decision; previously on Swamplot]

77554, Beaches, Development Restrictions, Erosion, Galveston, Lawsuits

Bolivar Peninsula

07/06/10 10:47am

The Power Balls Have Arrived!

Crystal Beach, Galveston, Hazards, Quicklink, Water Quality

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THE POWER BALLS HAVE ARRIVED! Okay, fess up: Which one of you has been secretly transporting oil from the Deepwater Horizon gusher to our local beaches? The Coast Guard reported over the weekend that up to 5 gallons of dime- to ping-pong-ball-size tar balls collected from the surf along East Beach in Galveston and the Bolivar Peninsula’s Crystal Beach came from BP’s little offshore accident. But surely the little bugger-balls can’t have been trying to swim all the way back to headquarters? “[Coast Guard captain Marcus] Woodring said the condition of the tar balls didnâ€™t look like they had drifted all the way from the Macondo well. They were ‘inconsistent with the weathering pattern that would be expected,’ he said. ‘To travel 400 miles is going to take a long time,’ during which the oil would be expected to break down. Officials were investigating whether the tar balls were from oil that clung to the hull of a ship passing through the BP oil slick or were from ballast water taken on by a ship in the oil slick zone and later dumped in Texas waters, Woodring said.” [Houston Chronicle]

Beaches, Bolivar Peninsula, Crystal Beach, Galveston, Hazards, Pollution, Water Quality

Bolivar

06/19/09 8:45am

Growing Property Lines on the Beach