Learn about our policy demands in our first policy agenda

By
Bayou City Waterkeeper
Category
Date
February 4, 2025

Bayou City Waterkeeper (BCWK) is launching its first-ever policy agenda, Turning the Tide. The creation of this agenda was a key goal identified in our 2022-25 strategic plan, and will allow us to build on existing relationships with key partners and government entities at the local, state, and federal level to achieve policy shifts for our communities and the watershed we serve.

Since our founding in 2001, BCWK has been leveraging the federal Clean Water Act to advocate for clean water in the lower Galveston Bay watershed. Through legal efforts, data analysis, and community engagement, we have advocated against unlawful development in wetlands and the release of untreated sewage into our waterways. We have consistently demonstrated that while protective policies often exist on paper, their true impact hinges on robust implementation. Our targeted legal advocacy has compelled regulators to enforce existing rules and, where necessary, create stronger, more protective regulations.

We are turning the tide. Building on the foundation of our successful regulatory engagement, our policy agenda represents a significant step forward in our role as water policy leaders of the region. While continuing our vital work of holding polluters accountable and ensuring regulatory compliance, this agenda broadens our focus to address the root causes of water inequities. It outlines a comprehensive vision for a healthy Lower Galveston Bay watershed, encompassing and emphasizing proactive policy changes to our decision-makers. This transformational approach will allow us to revitalize water policy in our region by demanding long-term protection for our waterways and building a sustainable future for our communities.

What is a policy agenda? 

A policy agenda is a guiding document that articulates our vision for our region, and the strategies and actions needed to get there. It is a tool for influencing public discourse and driving meaningful change. It is also a benchmark that allows the public and community to hold elected officials and regulators accountable for delivering the policy change our region deserves.

BCWK sees policy change as an important part of the solution that can simultaneously drive and be responsive to community organizing, data science, narrative change, and cultural strategies. Our agenda articulates BCWK’s vision for healthier waterways and communities, and outlines the specific policy changes we will advocate for to achieve that vision. We hope this agenda empowers our community to join us in demanding action and progress while also reflecting the diverse perspectives and expertise that inform our work.

The process and approach

Priority advocacy areas identified by stakeholders

Facilitated by the Center for Advancing Innovative Policy (CAIP), the process involved staff sessions and a bottom-up stakeholder engagement of 37 stakeholders through surveys and 1:1 interviews. The top advocacy areas identified through this process were flood prevention, environmental justice, conservation, and clean water. Important issues and opportunities that were identified included: clean drinking water, industrial and legacy pollution, public education/democracy work, and climate resilience—which was cited as a vessel to address climate justice, conservation, flood prevention, and mitigation, all at once.

While BCWK’s work has remained traditionally within the Texas Gulf Coast region, many stakeholders suggested BCWK to have more presence at the state level. Additionally, CAIP helped introduce an intersectional policy lens to our work since “our communities don’t live single-issue lives.” Through a collaborative, consensus-based process, we identified key priorities and developed a tiered system to guide our work, demonstrating strategic, efficient use of our resources and the interconnectedness of our work.

BCWK staff strategy session with CAIP staff

Our demands

Below is a high-level list of our demands. To see the more detailed demands, read our policy agenda.

Improve infrastructure equity 
  • Address sewage hotspots across our region where investment has long fallen short
  • The City of Houston and Harris County must close infrastructure gaps disproportionately affecting Black and Brown communities by investing in comprehensive water infrastructure improvements.
Improve water quality in our waterways
  • Strengthen the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ)’s antidegradation review so that it complies with the federal Clean Water Act
  • Strengthen the regional Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit to mitigate trash pollution in Houston’s bayous
Ensure access to clean & affordable drinking water
  • Ensure all communities have access to safe, clean, and affordable drinking water by addressing contaminants and upgrading infrastructure.
  • Increase access to affordable water for low-income communities
  • Renew and increase funding for the Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) to ensure continued support for families struggling with water bills.
  • Safeguard access to clean, potable water for low-income households.
Protect wetlands
  • Strengthen and pass the Clean Water Act to increase protection for wetlands. 
  • Protect and restore wetlands in the Lower Galveston Bay watershed.
  • Remove barriers to local and regional wetlands protection at the state level.
Reduce industrial risks
  • Reject initiatives that accelerate climate change, damage communities and ecosystems, or weaken environmental safeguards (stop the bad).
  • Halt new federal offshore drilling to mitigate climate impact and protect coastal ecosystems (stop the bad).
  • Reduce industrial risks by closing regulatory gaps and exclusions from environmental review (bridge strategy).
  • Prioritize green and nature-based flood infrastructure in underinvested Black and Brown communities (build the new).
  • Center community members in decision-making processes relating to storm protections and industrial risks (build the new).
Bayou City Waterkeeper Policy Analyst Usman Mahmood and Policy and Partnerships Manager Guadalupe Fernandez presenting our legislative priorities in Austin.

Our policy agenda is a roadmap for amplifying the needs of our communities and waterways to decision-makers in our region, our state, and the nation. We look forward to leveraging our policy agenda as we engage in increased policy conversations as an organization and through our key partnerships.

Register for our policy agenda webinar on February 20, 12-1:30 p.m. to learn more about our policy agenda development and demands. 

Bayou City Waterkeeper protects the waters and people across the greater Houston region through bold legal action, community science, and creative, grassroots policy to further justice, health, and safety for our region.