Galveston Bay, others unite in clean-water effort

The Galveston Bay Foundation announced the launch of its Clean Water Partnership program to improve water quality in Galveston Bay.

The program is intended to address important environmental issues in and around the bay, such as the high levels of bacteria that have restricted shellfish-harvesting areas.

The foundation's first partner organization in the program is Marina Del Sol, 1203 Twin Oaks Blvd in Kemah. "Partnering with GBF has allowed us to reach out to many of our marina members," said Marina Del Sol marina manager Marissa Ochoa in a press release on the partnership with the Galveston Bay Foundation. "Because like GBF, Marina Del Sol is committed to keeping Galveston Bay clean. We will continue to work with GBF in hopes of reaching more organizations to support our clean-marina efforts."

The program includes workshops for marina staff and boaters, as well as the collection of water quality data through the Texas Stream Team program and survey data through a volunteer Dockwalker program. "This program will allow GBF to build valuable relationships around the bay and provide an avenue for carrying out effective outreach that will benefit Galveston Bay and ultimately the community," said Galveston Bay foundation Water Quality Outreach Specialist Charlene Bohanon.

The Galveston Bay Foundation is located at 17330 Highway 3 in Webster. For more information, visit www.galvbay.org or call 281-332-3381.