The Texas Basins project.

Date

1966

Authors

Chapman, C.R.

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Allen Press, Incorporated

Abstract

The Texas Basins project is part of a plan to develop water resources of Texas to meet projected municipal,industrial, and insofar as possible, irrigation requirements in the year 2010. Eighteen reservoirs would supply water to a trans-Texas canal which would intercept tributary discharge to all coastal marshes. The large anticipated demands not related directly to the project, combined with project diversions, would reduce by one-half the average annual freshwater flow of 26 1/2 million acre-feet now reaching Texas estuaries. The reduction could exceed 75 % during dry years. The Texas Basins project would account for about on-third of this reduction. About 1 1/3 million acres of tidewater in Texas yield about 200 million pounds of fish and shellfish annually to commercial fishermen, and support more than 7 million man-days of sport fishing. Losses could be prevented and certain benefits realized by enlarging the scope of the Texas Basins project to provide for maintenance of estuarine fishery resources, and to prevent the discharge of toxic pesticides.

Description

p. 83-92.

Keywords

water resources, reservoirs, marshes, estuaries, fishery resources, pesticides, pollution control

Citation