Effects of aligning water front housing development canals with prevailing summer winds and installing a circulating canal and culverts

Waterfront housing developments are becoming more and more prevalent along the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) coast. With increased development, estuarine biota are adversely affected by loss of habitat and reduced water quality. In 1973, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) reviewed and recommended changes to the development plan of a waterfront subdivision called Omega Bay near Galveston, Texas. NMFS recommended that canal excavation be designed to maintain adequate oxygen levels by eliminating dead-end canal construction and aligning canals north-south in a direction to receive maximum turbulent mixing from prevailing summer winds and that canal depths not exceed those of the bordering Highland Bayou. This study, conducted in 1977 following the completion of the canal system, indicated that alignment of canals parallel to the prevailing summer winds, elimination of dead-end canals, and the intersection of an entrance canal with other canals enhanced circulation and provided adequate water quality essential for estuarine-dependent fauna. by Kenneth T. Marvin, K. Neal Baxter and Elizabeth Scott. "September 1990." Also available online in PDF format via the NOAA Central Library. Includes bibliographical references (page 6).