Meadows Center receives $500,000 to study link between climate change and polluted beaches

If you’re considering a trip to the coast this summer, maybe think again: Texas beaches have a poo problem. In 2021, Environment Texas published a study that found 90 percent of the state’s beaches contained dangerous pathogens found in fecal matter. (Especially avoid Cole Park Beach in Corpus Christi.) So this week, Austin’s U.S. Rep. Greg Casar granted $500,000 to Texas State University’s Meadows Center for Water and the Environment to research the link between extreme weather events fueled by climate change and increasingly stinky beaches.

In 2021, Environment Texas – which will assist the Meadows Center with the research – noted that polluted runoff finds its way to beaches during major rainstorms. Runoff comes from a variety of sources, like construction projects, sewage overflows, failing septic systems and pet or livestock waste. As Texas continues to grow, there will be more construction projects and more impervious cover to increase the risk of flooding. And, the Environmental Protection Agency noted this year, climate change is increasing major rainfall events, which in turn can carry “higher levels of pollution to beaches from stormwater runoff and wastewater released from damaged infrastructure.” This constitutes a serious risk to public health: A 2018 study estimated 57 million instances of people getting sick each year in the U.S. from swimming – in rivers and streams as well as the ocean – sometimes leading to acute gastrointestinal illness.

The U.S. House infrastructure committee approved the Water Quality Protection Act in 2021, earmarking funding for stopping sewage overflows – 15 percent of which was dedicated to nature-based infrastructure projects. Those can range from building detention and retention ponds to simply preserving natural features that quell flooding, like wetlands. The Texas Water Development Board is also in the midst of researching nature-based solutions to provide data and tools for communities wanting to implement them. Last fall, TWDB’s director of flood science and community assistance, Saul Nuccitelli, told the Texas Water Newsroom, “the work that we’re doing is from a lens of flood mitigation. But really, there are likely greater benefits for water quality.”

“Protecting Texas water is a TXST research priority,” Texas State President Kelly Damphousse said at a June 18 event unveiling the funding. “These dollars will support our work in addressing a public health issue and in protecting the resiliency of our coast and waterways for generations of Texans to enjoy.”

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