A new study by Dallas-based researchers finds that nearly all of the region’s waterways are polluted with microplastics.
The report from the Environment Texas Research and Policy Center calls on policymakers to take action to regulate the waste that ends up in the state’s water.
“Our report today found that microplastics have become a nearly invisible constant in our Texas waterways,” Environment Texas city hall advocate Ian Seamans said during a news conference Thursday. “That means that whether you fish on the Gulf Coast, swim in the Hill Country or paddle, for instance, White Rock Lake right here in Dallas, chances are that microplastics are there too.”
Microplastics, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, are small pieces of plastic less than 5 millimeters long that come from sources such as larger debris that degrades down, or microbeads found in certain health beauty products like body wash.
Seamans said researchers and local volunteers sampled water from 77 North Texas waterways, including the Trinity River, White Rock Lake and Mountain Creek Lake.
“The overwhelming majority of sites contained plastic fibers,” Seamans said. “We also found plastic pellets, the raw material used to make plastic products at multiple locations.”
The report says microplastics can be a threat to the health of wildlife and humans.
“This is a serious physical hazard,” read the report. “These plastics can cause suffocation and gut blockage, and animals that ingest too much plastic can starve.”
Seamans called on Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to enact stronger regulations on items like plastic pellets – manufactured beads that are melted down and used to mold everyday plastics – which Seamans says is “one of the most preventable sources of microplastic.”
“TCEQ should move now to require zero pellet discharge into Texas waterways,” he said.
He said Environment Texas has already gathered together more than 100 doctors, fishers and anglers from across the state as well as representatives of the tourism industry on the Gulf Coast to ask the governor to take action.
Former North Texas state Rep. Jason Villalba joined Seamans during the conference and said legislation to better regulate microplastics has been introduced in the last few sessions.
“The fishing and tourist industry is dramatically impacted by these microplastics, and unless we do something about that as a state as we go into the next legislative session, it's going to be very difficult on those industries,” Villalba said. “What we're seeing is a real head of steam going into the 2027 legislative session.”
Pablo Arauz Peña is KERA’s growth and infrastructure reporter. Got a tip? Email Pablo at parauzpena@kera.org.
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