Hall's Bayou
Hall's Lake, Hall's Bayou and adjacent habitats are part of the
Galveston Bay system on the upper Texas coast. the area is approximately
16 miles west-southwest of Galveston. Hall's Lake is a shallow, 325-acre,
tertiary bay on the north shoreline of West Galveston bay. Halls Lake is
on
state-owned submerged land.
An approximately 100- to 200-ft wide inlet
connects Hall's Lake to Chocolate bay, which, is connected to West Bay by a long
narrow isthmus. The isthmus is 0.7 miles long and is an 8- to 10-ft high
levee with a dirt road on top. Freshwater enters Hall's Lake through Hall's
Bayou. Hall's Bayou is 
approximately 26 miles long and drains extensive
marshes north of Hall's Lake before it enters the Lake on its northwestern
shoreline.
Erosion poses an imminent threat to the marshes an adjacent
habitats of Hall's Lake and Hall's Bayou. Shorelines the lake and the GIWW
are experiencing significant erosion. Bay barrier islands along the GIWW
that once provided protection to the
isthmus have all but disappeared. With the loss of barrier island buffer,
the impact of natural erosional forces increases as the fetch distance to the
southeast increases to almost four miles across West Bay. In addition to
natural erosion processes from wind and waves, vessels traveling along the GIWW
longitudinally traverse West Bay and generate waves and drawdown, which can
erode the shoreline.
At the current rate of erosion, a breach could occur within 5
years, The probability of a breach would increase if a t
ropical
storm impacted the area. If a breach occurs, some of the marshes along the
south converted to less productive, unvegetated habitat. Marshes on
the north shoreline will also be exposed to greater erosion forces from wind and
waves as fetch distance increases. Salinities in Hall's Lake will
immediately increase as more saline waters from West Bay enter the Lake.
Overall, the integrity of the entire wetland system is threatened, including its
value as nursery habitat for juvenile fish and shellfish and for wintering
habitat for birds. This project will provide immediate long-term prote
ction
of the wetland system.
The objective of this project is to stabilize the isthmus/levee separating Hall's Lake from West Bay with approximately 3,000 feet of protective features in order to protect 353 acres of estuarine emergent marsh and 4 acres of palustrine emergent marsh. Approximately 1,000 feet of breakwater will be constructed to protect an additional 7 acres of estuarine emergent marsh to be restored through plantings. This acreage is part of the 475 acres of marsh, sand flat, and uplands buffer surrounding the Lake.