Table 29 EARNINGS BY MAJOR INDUSTRY, 1970-2020 89,669 $ 99,000 $ 109,200 $ 131,600 $ 169,400 $ 227,200 350,670 409,800 1,68,900 546,500 623,700 715,900 659,956 2,288,500 1,558,213 991,000 1,487,000 3,427,700 5,091,500 SOURCE: OBERS for the leading industries are: manufacturing, 4.37 percent; wholesale and retail trade, 4.72 percent; services, 5.19 percent; and contract construction, 4.17 percent. In October, 1973 the unemployment rate for the Houston SMSA (Harris, Brazoria, Fort Bend, Liberty, and Montgomery Counties) was 2.5 percent. The overall rate for 1972 was 3.2 percent. The unemployment rate for the Galveston Texas City SMSA (Galveston County) in August, 1973 was 4.4 percent. The overall unemployment for 1972 was 6.0 percent. The overall rate for the state of Texas was 3.6 percent. Thirteen petroleum refineries were operating in BEA Economic Area 141 in 1970--seven in Harris County, four in Galveston County, and one each in Brazoria and Chambers Counties. Reported operating capacity was 1.056 million barrels. Employment derived from crude oil input in 1970 was 18,220, averaging 18,190 barrels of crude oil input per employee for the year. G. Existing Environmental Quality Problems in Nearshore and Water quality degradation occurs from sewage and industrial pollutions, dredging operations, pesticides, urban and agricultural runoff, changes in hydrological regime, shipping, offshore oil operations, etc. We have been able to gather limited information and quantification of the following water quality problems. The Corps of Engineers reviewed the water quality problems along the Texas coastline in preparation of a report on Gulf coast deepwater port facilities. (U.S. Dept. of the Army, 1973). Some of their findings are included below. Areas of moderate to heavy pollution are shown in Figure 36 Pollution levels are high in the Houston ship channel, along the west side of Sabine Lake and up the Neches and Sabine tidal estuaries. Pollution levels are also high in the area surrounding the city of Galveston and in a small area near a chemical plant in Lavaca Bay. Other small areas of pollution are located in tributaries of most of the bays located near oil fields, where the disposal of oil field brines takes place. In the bays, oyster reefs reflect areas of human disturbance because they are closed to harvesting when bacterial counts or incidence of hepatitus are too high. As of September 1, 1970, the Texas Department Figure 36. Areas of Moderate to Heavy Water Pollution in eastern Texas Bays and Estuaries. Areas of closed and approved (active) oyster reefs are indicated. (from U.S. Dept. of the Army, 1973). of Health had closed virtually all reefs, in Sabine Lake, almost half the reefs in Galveston Bay and over half the reefs in Lavaca Bay, representing most of the bays with significant oyster production. Acreages of closed and active reefs are indicated in Figure 36 Deterioration of the environment by dredging can result from removal of benthos and benthic habitat in the path of the dredge, turbidity of the water and burial of the benthic community where the spoil is discharged, loss of aquatic habitat by emergent spoil banks, alteration of natural drainage and tidal patterns by deep channels and spoil banks, erosion and saltwater intrusion in wetland areas, resuspension of toxic materials previously buried in the sediments, and perhaps others. Dredging is carried out for several purposes: landfill operations, creation and maintenance of navigation channels and canals, sand and shell dredging, and pipeline laying. Because of the extremely shallow character of the Texas bays, considerable dredging has taken place in order to construct navigation channels for commerce and industry located in the coastal sea ports. The Intracoastal Waterway extends the entire length of the Texas coast and is the mainstay of coastal inter- and intrastate cargo transportation. Considerable amounts of emergent spoil and land fill has been created in each of the bay systems, and especially in Galveston Bay. |