Galveston Bay Gets Bad Grade For Pollution

The Galveston Bay Foundation recently released its latest Galveston Bay Report Card, a progress report on the state of the bay’s water and ecosystem. While foundation president Bob Stokes told News 88.7 "The water today in Galveston Bay is much cleaner that it was 30 to 40 years ago," he says there’s still plenty of issues of concern.

While the foundation gave the bay a “B” for water quality, it gave the bay a “D” for pollution, citing old toxic dumps and recent oil spills that could threaten wildlife and the safety of seafood.

The bay also received a “D” for wildlife, which the report said had deteriorated over the years. Particularly hard-hit are oysters, which Stokes says have been depleted because of over-fishing, drought and Hurricane Ike that covered reefs with sediment.

The report's overall grade for the Bay was a “C.”

To learn more, we talk with Stokes and Erin Kinney from HARC — Houston Advanced Research Center.

MORE: Galveston Bay Oysters Under Assault, Gets Bad Grade For Pollution (News 88.7, Aug. 12, 2015)