Plan Outreach

outreach plan, Toolbox, and roadmap

The Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC), with support from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, is pleased to be able to offer support to your staff and residents to increase engagement in water quality outreach, with a more specific goal of reducing bacteria concentrations in coastal community waterways.

H-GAC is committed to working to improve surface water quality. Currently, there are six active water-quality related projects underway in the region’s coastal counties. The seventh, Coastal Communities Outreach, will offer an overarching engagement, education, and outreach program for all these efforts.

Bacteria is a serious issue in surface waters in the region. Bacteria concentrations are measured to ensure a water body is safe for recreation, especially in the tidal portions of the waterways. High bacterial concentrations may cause gastrointestinal illnesses or skin infections in swimmers or others who come into direct contact with the water. Eight percent of lakes, 58 percent of freshwater streams, and 56 percent of tidal streams in the H-GAC basins have an impairment or concern for bacteria, meaning they do not meet state standards. No bays are impaired for enterococci bacteria but may be impaired for oyster harvesting due to elevated concentrations of fecal coliform bacteria.

Through a comprehensive website; site visits with city leadership; creation of needs assessments; and availability of outreach materials, activities, and event attendance, H-GAC staff hope to support your efforts to talk with residents about simple things they can do at home, every day, to reduce bacterial levels in the watersheds they live, work, and play in. Improving water quality protects sources of drinking water, allows for safe and healthy water recreation, and protects aquatic habitat.

H-GAC invites you to join us, explore the website, call for help, attend our workgroup networking meetings, and help us reach your residents to talk about water quality.

Use the drop-down menu for this tab to view the Plan, Toolbox, and Roadmap or download the complete Outreach Plan and Roadmap in PDF format.