Science Advisory Committee Report on Water for Environmental Flows

Senate Bill 1639 78th Legislature

Oct 26, 2004 

“The question is not whether environmental flows are important and should be protected, but rather, how, when, and where, and in what quantities should flows be reserved for environmental purposes in the state’s (Texas) rivers streams and in its bays and estuaries.”

“The need for defensible science and acceptable answers relative to the state’s environmental flow programs is of paramount importance.”

“Less consideration should be given to determing “optimal” levels of freshwater inflow in the bays and estuaries, and more emphasis should be placed on addressing the extreme hydrological events that periodically cause major stress on the ecological integrity of these systems, notably low flow and drought conditions.” 

Full report here: 

 A study into the export of saline water from Hervey Bay, Australia