Clean Coast Texas: Restoring Water Quality: Impacts of On-site Sewage Systems

Clean Coast Texas Lunch & Learn:
Restoring Water Quality: Tackling the Impact of On-site Sewage Systems
Thursday, September 25, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM CT

Link to register:
Meeting Registration - Zoom

Join special guests, Kathryn Tunnell from Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program (CBBEP), and Bill Ervin from the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) to hear how two regions in Texas are working with residents to improve water quality by addressing failing septic tanks.

Kathryn Tunnell will discuss efforts to identify and address water quality degradation in the Baffin Bay watershed. Focusing on addressing nutrient and bacteria loading from residential on-site sewage facilities (OSSFs), she will describe CBBEP and partners' OSSF Assistance Program, how priority communities were identified, and the application and ranking process used.

Bill Ervin will discuss H-GAC's OSSF program and how it supports Watershed Based Planning to address bacterial impairments. He will share H-GAC’s work with Authorized Agents in the 13-county region to collect OSSF permit data. He will also discuss H-GAC’s Homeowner Wastewater Assistance Program and information on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) OSSF replacement project.

Katheryn Tunnell has served as Project Manager for CBBEP for 10 years, overseeing projects ranging from shoreline protection and habitat restoration to marine debris removal and water quality improvement.

Bill Ervin is a Senior Planner in the Community and Environmental Department at H-GAC. Since joining in 2023, Bill has led H-GAC's Homeowner Wastewater Assistance Program, which offers funding to qualified homeowners to address failing conventional septic systems or aerobic OSSFs.

About Clean Coast Texas: Clean Coast Texas | Texas General Land Office

Clean Coast Texas webinar recordings: Clean Coast Texas Webinars - YouTube