Texas university granted $1.7 million to keep coastal waters clean

TEXAS -- The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University has received a grant to continue its efforts keeping Texas coastal waters cleaner through 2024. That's good news for beach-goers, fishing enthusiasts, surfers, boaters, and just about everyone in the state.

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The grant comes from Clean Coast Texas, a program of the Texas General Land Office's Coastal Management Program. The state's coastal zone includes all or part of 18 counties along the Gulf of Mexico, comprising almost 9 million acres that are home to more than 6 million Texans - nearly a quarter of the state's population.

The Texas coast makes a tremendous contribution to the statewide economy, says Nick Dornak, director of watershed services at the Meadows Center. Millions of people from all over Texas and the world visit the coast each year, and it supports the commercial and recreational fishing, tourism, agriculture, and forestry industries. The coast is a vital component of our natural environment as well, providing habitat for wildlife, reducing flooding, and improving air and water quality.

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