It’s been two years in the making and has become one of the most ambitious, extensive monitoring studies of its kind in the nation. The Surface Water and Sediment Quality Monitoring Project partners include: the Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program (CBBEP), United States Environmental Protection Agency, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Texas General Land Office, Center for Coastal Studies TAMU-CC, Nueces River Authority, Port of Corpus Christi Authority, and Port Industries of Corpus Christi.

In 1999, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality placed Corpus Christi Bay on the Draft Clean Water Act 303-(d) list due to elevated dissolved copper concentrations. Even though Corpus Christi Bay was eventually removed from the list, local stakeholders expressed concerns over the possibility of elevated metals concentrations in area bays. In an effort to further investigate this water quality issue, the stakeholders developed and implemented the CBBEP Surface Water and Sediment Quality Monitoring Project.

This state-of-the-art monitoring project is the first, large-scale effort using “Ultra-Clean” water quality sampling and analysis methods. All data and analysis collected in this two-year water quality monitoring project will be included in a final comprehensive report scheduled for release in May 2003. The report will analyze a broad suite of water quality parameters including metals, nutrients, salinity, dissolved oxygen and biological information.