East Matagorda Bay

East Matagorda Bay is a minor estuary located on the mid-Texas coast in Matagorda County, just northeast of the Colorado-Lavaca Estuary.  This minor bay system covers approximately 37,810 acres and has an average depth of 3.4 feet.  East Matagorda Bay receives freshwater inflow only from runoff of surrounding coastal watersheds and from direct precipitation on the bay.  There are no direct sources of river inflow into this bay system.  Average surface inflow to East Matagorda Bay, based on estimates of runoff from surrounding coastal basins, is 536,165 acre-feet per year.  East Matagorda Bay is located within the boundaries of the Region K (Lower Colorado) Regional Water Planning Group.

Selected Studies

• Schoenbaechler, C., C.G. Guthrie, and Q. Lu.  2011.  Coastal Hydrology for East Matagorda Bay.  October 10, 2011.  Texas Water Development Board, Austin, Texas.  13 pp.
• Schoenbaechler, C., C.G. Guthrie, J. Matsumoto, Q. Lu, and S. Negusse.  2011.  TxBLEND Model Calibration and Validation for the Lavaca-Colorado Estuary and East Matagorda Bay.  February 14, 2011.  Texas Water Development Board, Austin, Texas.  72 pp.