{"id":160017,"date":"2025-08-20T02:57:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T02:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/160017\/"},"modified":"2025-08-20T02:57:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T02:57:10","slug":"local-researchers-gather-data-on-microplastics-in-houston-waterways-for-environmental-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/160017\/","title":{"rendered":"Local researchers gather data on microplastics in Houston waterways for environmental study"},"content":{"rendered":"

HOUSTON<\/strong> \u2013 It was a clear July morning when \u201cHouston Life\u201d host Derrick Shore, producer Sabiha Mahmood and photographer Lenny Juarez joined researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Galveston Bay Estuary Program (GBEP) and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) on a field study about microplastics.<\/p>\n

Group photo of the crew from KPRC 2 “Houston Life,” U.S. Geological Survey, University of Houston-Clear Lake’s Environmental Institute of Houston and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. (Copyright 2025 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n

Using special equipment, USGS Supervisory Hydrologist Zulimar Lucena and her team collected particles at Trinity Bay near Wallisville \u2014 some so tiny they can only be seen under a microscope. <\/p>\n

USGS Supervisory Hydrologist Zulimar Lucena and “Houston Life” host Derrick Shore. (Copyright 2025 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n

Their samples contributes to a long-term study analyzing microplastics<\/a> collected from Houston waterways.<\/p>\n

With blue skies overhead and calm water below, the \u201cHouston Life\u201d crew captured the process in action.<\/p>\n

Behind-the-scenes photos of the “Houston Life” crew filming the team from USGS as they collect microplastics at Trinity River near Wallisville. (Copyright 2025 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.)Behind-the-scenes photos of the “Houston Life” crew filming the team from USGS as they collect microplastics at Trinity River near Wallisville. (Copyright 2025 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.)Behind-the-scenes photos of the “Houston Life” crew filming the team from USGS as they collect microplastics at Trinity River near Wallisville. (Copyright 2025 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.)Behind-the-scenes photos of the “Houston Life” crew filming the team from USGS as they collect microplastics at Trinity River near Wallisville. (Copyright 2025 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.)Behind-the-scenes photos of the “Houston Life” crew filming the team from USGS as they collect microplastics at Trinity River near Wallisville. (Copyright 2025 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n

Step onto the boat and follow the team back to shore to see the full process in the video above.<\/p>\n

For more information, visit the USGS website on \u201cMicroplastics in Tributaries to Galveston Bay<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Artist Boat Coastal Heritage Preserve initiative is part of the Galveston Bay Estuary Program<\/a> (GBEP) series, raising awareness of the conservation efforts to protect our local bays, bayous, and estuaries for future generations. These initiatives are made possible by the support of GBEP through funding from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality<\/a> (TCEQ) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Thanks to generous funding from GBEP, TCEQ, and the U.S. EPA, this partnership with the Environmental Institute of Houston<\/a> (EIH) at the University of Houston-Clear Lake is paving the way for a sustainable and healthier future.<\/p>\n

Check out some of the programs we featured on \u2018Houston Life.\u2019<\/p>\n

\ud83e\uddcbJoin the SPLASh challenge to cut plastic waste and make a real difference for wildlife<\/a><\/p>\n

\ud83d\udca7 Water-saving tips for your home and keep your lawn green with a rain barrel<\/a><\/p>\n

\ud83c\udf43 Explore the nature preserve protecting Galveston\u2019s coastline and wildlife<\/a><\/p>\n

\ud83e\uddaa An oyster\u2019s journey from shore to plate and back to revitalize Galveston Bay<\/a><\/p>\n

\ud83c\udf0a Keep Houston waterways healthy at Trash Bash 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc9a Reviving Houston\u2019s bayous: Inside the restoration project making the city greener<\/a><\/p>\n

Copyright 2025 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON \u2013 It was a clear July morning when \u201cHouston Life\u201d host Derrick Shore, producer Sabiha Mahmood and…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":160018,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5130],"tags":[4788,9094,92786,4345,32958,358,3187],"class_list":{"0":"post-160017","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-conservation","9":"tag-galveston","10":"tag-galveston-bay-estuary-program","11":"tag-houston","12":"tag-houston-life","13":"tag-texas","14":"tag-tx"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115058851342950510","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160017"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160017\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}