PALMETTO Tampa Bay’s 215 million gallons were drained into the bay like a shot with liquid fertilizer.
Scientists believe that what happened next was not surprising. Scientists believe that algae exploded after being exposed to contaminated water from Piney Point last year.
It was bad for Tampa Bay. However, it is difficult to determine how bad. One reason is that the bay is regularly contaminated by other pollutants, making it difficult to identify Piney Points effect.
The estuary has been an example of environmental restoration through decades of progress. But 2021 brought about renewed concern. A toxic Red Tide bloom ravaged Tampa Bay, killing many fish and other marine creatures. Manatees and other animals. Scientists believe that Piney Point’s wastewater may have made it worse.
Peter Clark, president, Tampa Bay Watch, said that there have been significant strides in Tampa Bay. We can also make big steps backwards.
The state allowed the polluted water into the bay between April 30 and April 9, amid concerns of a worse catastrophe, the Piney Point reservoir collapse and letting loose a flood to nearby homes and businesses.
The Tampa Bay Estuary Program, an organization that monitors and advocates for the health of the bay, estimates that the release may add more nitrogen to the lower portion of the estuary in just 10 days than the area typically sees over a year.
This doesn’t help the healing process, says Ed Sherwood, executive director of Estuary Programs.
Try to find that signal
Scientists may never agree on the extent of Piney Point to blame For causing or exacerbating multiple algal blooms last year.
Algae require nitrogen to grow. However, runoff from fertilized lawns and leaking pipes are constant problems.
Steve Murawski (a University of South Florida fisheries scientist), said that we were referring to compounds that already exist in the environment at a certain level. Finding the signal is always a challenge.
Researchers are trying to determine if there is a connection between the release and the algal blooms by following nutritional signatures from Piney Point. These signatures could be seen in the algae like fingerprints. Elise Morrison from the University of Floridas Department of Environmental Engineering Services said that the work is still incomplete.
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Scientists have created a timeline that suggests that pollution from Piney Point may be having cycled through the environment during most of last spring/summer. It is described in A paper published in the Marine Pollution Bulletin.
Non-toxic algae called diatoms first bloomed in April around Port Manatee. The wastewater was pumped into the bay by Piney Points owner. Within weeks, the diatoms vanished.
A different type of algae appeared off Anna Maria Island, south Piney Point, shortly after the first bloom. Lyngbya, also known as Lyngbya, drifted in large, smelly mats that choked canals and channels.
Red Tide also moved into Tampa Bay around the same period. The bloom floated in the bay and gulf, reaching its peak in July.
The Red Tide Toxins killed untold quantities of fish and caused scratchy throats, coughs, and other symptoms. Pinellas County has collected more than 1,800 tons dead sea life and debris. The carcasses of goliath grouper and gray tarpon bloated at the city’s edge sat in the sand. Maggots crawled through the flesh from dead sheepshead.
Scientists are certain that the Red Tide was not caused by the Piney Point discharge.
Karenia brevis, Red Tide, the organism responsible for the bloom, was blown into Tampa Bay by currents and wind, which created conditions that were favorable to the growth of the algae. Researchers say that contamination from the spillage could have contributed to the bloom’s worsening.
They believe that Piney Point’s nitrogen was taken up by diatoms in the beginning. Some of the nitrogen would have been released into the bay after these organisms died. It is possible that the Red Tide and mat-like algae may have taken advantage of it.
We know this. Karenia brevisKate Hubbard, director at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commissions Center for Red Tide Research, stated that you can use many different types and types of nutrients.
A University of South Florida model shows that pollution from Piney Point moved with the tides and currents around Tampa Bay. However, it remained at high levels for months.
Long-term concerns
The release was quickly followed by a troubling announcement from environmental managers: Tampa Bay had lost several thousand acres of seagrass during the past two year. Seagrass beds are vital nurseries for fish and an indicator of the health of the entire estuary.
While the release had nothing to do about those declines environmentalists feared that Piney Point might cause more. The bay’s seagrass problem is located far north of the discharge area in an area of Old Tampa Bay that has been plagued by repeated algae blooms. The algae are blocking sunlight which seagrasses need to thrive, and clouding the water.
Sherwood stated that the initial surveys give reason to be optimistic that Piney Point didn’t harm seagrasses. A second round of long-term monitoring results is expected later in the year.
Capt. Scott Moore, a Manatee County fishing guide, said that he is still concerned. He said that he has already seen more algae tangled with seagrass this season.
Moore stated that those nutrients didn’t work.
It is not clear if contaminants from Piney Point are still being recycled through the ecosystem.
Clark, from Tampa Bay Watch, stated that the water quality around Tierra Verde has been relatively poor. Clark said that he cannot recall any blooms of macroalgae stringy, or leafy mucus that can be easily seen with the naked eyes as bad as the 1980s.
The old property was used to fertilizer plants. It still contains hundreds of millions of gallons worth of wastewater that could leach or spill. Clark stated that Clark isn’t convinced that the nutrients were released. Crews are working fast to drain the Piney Point ponds.
Dave Tomasko is the executive director of Sarasota Bay Estuary Program. He said that the crisis brought attention the larger issue of water quality in Florida. The unprecedented manatee die-off on the East Coast brought attention to the Indian River Lagoon, where algal blooms are believed that have wiped out thousands of acres.
Environmental advocates argue that elected officials should spend more on reducing waste flowing to the bay. However, homeowners can make lifestyle changes to reduce their own pollution. footprints.
Tomasko said that the Indian River Lagoon and (Piney Point), starving manatees are like a message to people. This is your chance to make a difference.