Quote:
Originally Posted by Smalls
x2
Most of what I said, but in shorter form. Thanks for the info on the Sabine though, I knew I had that somewhere, but wasn't sure of it. Actually just looked back on a report I have from 2003 i think. Stated that they had actually intended to extend (or deepen) the Sabine-Neche Ship Channel to Beaumont. Haven't looked that up, but did they actually do this?
Also, because of the intracoastal, the two basins are actually connected. Gum Cove ridge used to serve as a barrier between the two, but the intracoastal bisected that. Now their hydrologies are directly affected by one another. So I imagine there isn't much difference between the two, although since it has 2 major inflows as opposed to one, the Sabine probably trends somewhat fresher, as you said. So I can believe that.
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A good document describing the hydrologies of the Sabine and Calcasieu basins is here:
http://lacoast.gov/reports/static/HILCP_3.pdf
While I agree that the intracoastal waterway connected the two hydrologies, I disagree that they are the same. Here are some major differences:
1. The Sabine-Neches ship channel skirts around the west side of Sabine Lake and actually creates a much different salinity gradient in Sabine than in Calcasieu. There are many times when Sabine is actually has lower salinity in the middle of the lake than at the north end.
2. A lot more fresh water, and a more consistent supply of fresh water flows through Sabine. I doubt spotted sea trout catches regularly occur nearly as far north in the Sabine system as in the Calcasieu.
3. The pollution related water quality issues of each system are unique and dominated by the point and non-point sources local to each system. The intracoastal creates a much greater salinity exchange than it creates a pollution exchange. Most pollutants are heavier and more likely to get bound up with the mud in comparison with salt.
4. Over time, I expect the better protection of the oyster beds in Sabine will both improve water quality as well as improve fish habitat. Oysters remove nitrogen and phosphorus and filter feeding allows light to penetrate deeper into the water.