Voice Your Support for Freshwater Inflow Protection: Write a letter re: HB 3 and SB 3
Many of the most important elements that determine the health of our marine resources are invisible to the human eye. Water, of course … at least its specific makeup … definitely falls in that category. Even the best “water reader” among us cannot take a look, especially over the long term, and tell us if what is perhaps the most critical element is present in our saltwater bays and estuaries.
That element?
None other than freshwater.
The Coastal Conservation Association, to its credit, has been paying close attention to this subtle but extremely significant scenario for a number of years. I remember first learning about the risks of inadequate freshwater inflows back in the early 1980s, when along with Sportsman Conservationists of Texas former representative Alan Allen, I entered a heated debate as to the potential negative impacts of impounding Lake Texana, near Ganado.
Lake Texana is another story … one that has long been historical. I don’t know that extensive research has been conducted specifically on that impoundment’s impact on Lavaca, Tres Palacios, Carancahua and Turtle Bays on the downstream side. I do know, however, that every freshwater impoundment constructed in the state simultaneously constricts the amount of freshwater, and the essential nutrients it carries, into saltwater ecosystems.
Back to CCA: I received a plea for help from the Houston-based organization today, and it is a worthy call to action. The release, entitled “CCA Texas Needs Your Help to Preserve Fresh Water Inflows to Texas’s Bays and Estuaries,” includes a link that allows you to voice your concerns to the appropriate state authorities.
I hope you will avail yourself of that information.
As soon as this post is online, I am doing the same. It is written for use by CCA members, but can be utilized by anyone who is concerned about monitoring and assuring the safety of the Texas saltwater environment. If you are a regular visitor to this site, it’s safe to assume that applies to you (if you are not a CCA member, you can get involved with a phone call to 713-726-4222 or an online visit to CCATexas.org).
The February CCA press release reads as follows:
CCA Texas needs your help to ensure Texas bays and estuaries receive adequate
freshwater inflows. Bills are currently in committee and your immediate help
is needed. Please take a few minutes of your time and send letters TODAY to the
Governor’s Office, Lt. Governor’s Office, your Texas Senator, your Texas Representative and the members of the House and Senate Natural Resources Committees.
Your assistance is vital in this effort to guarantee proper fresh water inflows to Texas’s precious bays and estuaries. You can help by using the sample letter below or going to the link provided below and downloading a letter. Be sure to include your return address in all correspondence.
The link below provides the appropriate names and addresses of your state legislatures. If you are not a CCA member … and for a good number of good reasons, joining the organization and becoming part of its clout is in both your interest and that of our coastal resources … then identify yourself as a concerned sportsman.
Since the Texas Legislature is currently in session, and there is currently legislation under consideration that applies to the freshwater inflows scenario (House Bill 3 and Senate Bill 3), the “sample letter” this missive includes is of timely importance.
TIME IS CRUCIAL! PLEASE ACT NOW. Go to www.ccatexas.org/CCATexas/Water_Letter.asp to see how you can help.
SAMPLE LETTER:
Your Name
Return Address
Dear Representative ____________/Senator ____________,
I am a member of the Coastal Conservation Association. I want to thank you and
the Texas Legislature for considering the passage of HB 3 and SB 3. It is a valiant
attempt to create a process where the freshwater needs of the Texas bays and
estuaries will be both quantified and met in the future.
The basin by basin study approach is a good one. But, it will take time … time
during which the State’s remaining water will likely be appropriated permanently.
Given the permits now pending there will be little, or nothing, left for set-aside for in stream flows and bay health as contemplated by HB 3 and SB 3.
Please insist that there be included in HB 3 and in its Senate counterpart SB
3 a moratorium on the applications to appropriate or to reuse waters presently
pending before the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality, until the HB 3
and SB 3 studies are complete. Only with the moratorium will the results of the
studies be meaningful. Only then will there be State water available to supply
the scientifically-proven need.
As a member of the Coastal Conservation Association, I would also like to go
on record as opposing the construction of any new reservoirs on Texas’ rivers
and streams that would jeopardize the inflow of fresh water into our bays and
estuaries.
Thank you for your positive consideration of my suggestions.
Sincerely yours,
YOUR NAME
Howdy. I am 
