Beautifying Houston's Beaches (Galveston, La Porte, Howe: 2013, pollution, deposit)

[HoustonBornNRaised]

Originally Posted by Jack Lance

You do know that if you go out just a few miles into the gulf the water is blue all the time

Yep, that's correct. I've seen it, deep sea fishing.

[HoustonBornNRaised]

Originally Posted by Yn0hTnA

No, the picture is legit.
Galveston Oh Galveston | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

I'm not trying to be argumentative, but just because someone posted a picture on the internet, does not make it legit.

[Yn0hTnA]

Just in case the photo at the beginning of the thread was "shopped," I will provide other pictures of the clarity that you can see at times in Houston area waters:

Kemah Boardwalk

http://www.city-data.com/forum/membe...8386-kemah.jpg

Galveston

http://www.city-data.com/forum/membe...5-39129554.jpg

Crystal Beach (Bolivar Peninsula)

http://www.city-data.com/forum/membe...unewalkway.jpg

Crystal Beach (Bolivar Peninsula)

http://www.city-data.com/forum/membe...381-defpic.jpg

I believe, that with innovation, inspiration, optimism, and big ideas, the Houston metro region will become a great force to reckon with. Diversity can be expanded in the economy, tourism will grow, and the waters in the pics above may become the constant color, not the fleeting instance it is today.

[HoustonBornNRaised]

Much more believable, with the exception of the top one. You can tell by the building colors, that there was a filter used.

[Jack Lance]

Originally Posted by HoustonBornNRaised

Much more believable, with the exception of the top one. You can tell by the building colors, that there was a filter used.

So the filters make the colors brighter but do not change them , right? Blue is still blue..!

[HookTheBrotherUp]

I used to go to Galveston quite a bit in the late eighties in the fall when the weather cooled, and as someone else mentioned, depending on the wind direction and currents, the water does clear up. I was wading about 30 feet or so from the beach and waste high water and I could see the sun, crystal clear, shimmering on what would have been my toes... I had waders on.

But the silt, and resulting "dirty" water is not that dirty biologically. With that water, the food chain really works well, from the phytoplankton on up resulting in quite a bit of marine life. And if you head out just five miles from the Seawall, you will hit crystal blue water as clear as the Caribbean. I think if you disturbed the "dirty" water, it would have other consequences along the coast and marshes.

So in other words, it will never happen, too political even if possible.

[Yn0hTnA]

Galveston Bay (a good portion of it) once had extensive beach front, and shoreline. There was once a beach in La Porte (one of the most industrial parts of Greater Houston today); it was known as Sylvan Beach, and it was a nationally known tourist destination that attracted performers, and was complete with amusement parks, and amenities. However, due to the wake of industry, and land subsidence from groundwater extraction, the beachfront started eroding. Hurricanes also did their part, and soon, the beach disappeared due to erosion.

In recent times, though, there have been some projects around La Porte that have been restoring the beachfront of Galveston Bay, one cell at a time.

Sylvan Beach - La Porte

http://www.city-data.com/forum/membe...8388-pier6.jpg

[HoustonBornNRaised]

Originally Posted by Jack Lance

So the filters make the colors brighter but do not change them , right? Blue is still blue..!

So you're saying that you've seen blue, and I'm talking blue - water in Galveston before? I've seen it, the way it's represented in the second two, but only a few times. All other times, it's been brown.

Filter may not be the right term. I'm no photographer, but you can tell from the building colors, something is going on with that first one.

FWIW, I would kill for Galveston to have blue water. What Houstonian wouldn't?

[HoustonBornNRaised]

Originally Posted by HookTheBrotherUp

I used to go to Galveston quite a bit in the late eighties in the fall when the weather cooled, and as someone else mentioned, depending on the wind direction and currents, the water does clear up.

Define "clear up". Clear up as in the first picture?

[Yn0hTnA]

Originally Posted by HookTheBrotherUp

I used to go to Galveston quite a bit in the late eighties in the fall when the weather cooled, and as someone else mentioned, depending on the wind direction and currents, the water does clear up. I was wading about 30 feet or so from the beach and waste high water and I could see the sun, crystal clear, shimmering on what would have been my toes... I had waders on.

But the silt, and resulting "dirty" water is not that dirty biologically. With that water, the food chain really works well, from the phytoplankton on up resulting in quite a bit of marine life. And if you head out just five miles from the Seawall, you will hit crystal blue water as clear as the Caribbean. I think if you disturbed the "dirty" water, it would have other consequences along the coast and marshes.

So in other words, it will never happen, too political even if possible.

Good point.

One must study the relationship the silt has with the environment before he/she jumps the gun, and begins the project.