CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Texas Tribune recently shared that a crucial state mobile monitoring program is being scaled back in the number of reports it conducts near large industrial hubs.
According to the article, those reports by the monitoring program are essential in determining where air pollution is and who is responsible for it.
It prompted 3NEWS to take a look at air and water monitoring groups in our area and how often they conduct tests and analyze data.
Coastal Bend Air Quality Partnership Executive Director Sharon Bailey Murphy said the nonprofit analyzes various pollutants that could pose a threat to the community.
"Ozone, it's not the ozone you think about in the stratosphere," she said. "It's ozone that's down here where we breathe, and it can be harmful to people with asthma, with emphysema, with heart problems."
Murphy said they also monitor the impact of nitrogen oxides -- gases that are emitted through motor vehicles and other combustion engines -- and VOC's (Volatile Organic Compounds) that can be found in many household items.
When any or all of these components come together, Murphy said, "it makes this soup called ozone, and it can make you very very sick."
The organization has multiple locations that conduct air monitoring for Nueces and San Patricio counties. Murphy said that TCEQ is the supervising agency in their partnership. Anyone can check air quality levels by visiting their website, which leads to a system by the Environmental Protection Agency that gives updated information every hour, according to Murphy.
Surfrider Foundation Blue Water Task Force Coordinator Tommy Shilts is part of a team that regularly conducts water testing at Padre Balli Beach and both JP Luby Surf Park locations.
He said collecting that data and making it easily accessible to the public is at the core of their mission.
Shilts said that while they are their own entity, they do try to work in tandem with the Texas General Land Office, who collected water samples earlier in the week.
The Surfrider Foundation collects their samples closer to the weekend on Thursday's. He said it provides more accurate information for those preparing to take a trip to the beach during the weekend.
"Results can change in 24, 72 hours," he said.