A study of the flushing times of the Houston Ship Channel and Galveston Bay.

The authors have evaluated the advective flushing time of the Houston Ship Channel above the San Jacinto River and above Morgans Point The values were found to vary from 112 days to less than a day with mean values of 27.5 days for the channel above the San Jacinto River and 16.2 days for the channel above Morgans Point. Values for the Bay were found to vary from 75 to 280 days with a mean flushing time of 175 days. The values obtained were evaluated statistically to determine the percent of time that a given flushing period is exceeded. These values should prove valuable in evaluating the buildup of conservative or slow decaying pollutants in this important estuarine system.