5 Spotlight Takeout from Tampa Bay Water Quality Discussion

Leading water quality experts have a message to more than 3 million people who have settled along the coast of Florida’s largest open water estuary.

Go outside and experience the waters of Tampa Bay. Get your feet wet. I fall in love with it.

Because when you love something, you want to protect it.

That lesson was one of the messages from a free community conversation on Thursday night about the future of Tampa Bay water quality and supply, hosted by the Tampa Bay Times in partnership with Tampa Electric.

Approximately 275 people have convened at the Jewish Community Centre in Shana and Brian Glazer in Tampa to temperature checks for the countless water quality issues that are worrisome in Tampa Bay.

Five experts, including scientists and government officials, met on the stage for discussion.

•Edshirewood, executive director of the Tampa Bay Estuary Program.

• Peter Clark, president and founder of Tampa Bay Watch.

•Margaret Mars Brisbin, assistant professor of biological marine science at USF College of Marine Science.

•Santino Provenzano, senior environmental director at Mosaic Co.

• Warren Hogg, Chief Science Officer of Tampa Bay Water.

In a conversation hosted by Tampa Bay Times Economy and Health Editor Justingriffin, the panelists outlined the condition of the Bay and attacked topics such as the loss of seagrass, overdevelopment and red tide.

Here are five takeaways just in case you missed it.

Old Tampa Bay, almost beyond the “tip point”

Northern Tampa Bay – Water under bridges like Gandhi and Howard Frankland faces a historic small amount of sea grass. Why is it important: Sea grasses live in small marine life in their homes, inhaling carbon dioxide, creating a natural deterrent for storms.

A 2023 survey showed that Old Tampa Bay lost more than 2,500 acres of sea grass in recent years.

Experts warn Old Tampa Bay is almost over a tipping point.

“Old Tampa Bay, where beds of lush sea grass for many years, have a place and is now barren,” Sherwood told the crowd. “That’s scary to me, because it’s a vital area of ​​Tampa Bay that we’ve struggled with in the past, but we’ve never lost the amount of sea grass we have in the last few years.”

Sherwood said the conditions in Northern Bay were due to the long-standing loss of sea grass that contributed to a record 1,100 manatees deaths, as many sea cows struggled to find food.

Old Tampa Bay does not have any major contamination offenders. Nutrient contamination due to poor circulation, spills and tailpipe discharges are some of the main threats. To bring Old Tampa Bay back to health, there is a need for more nature-based infrastructure and better circulation.

“We need to be authentic about it,” Sherwood said.

The Tampa Bay Area may run out of “cheap water”

Will Tampa Bay be able to run out of clean drinking water over the next decade as signs of Bay Area development have not slowed down?

Tampa Bay Water Forecasts predicts that the area will need up to 38 million gallons of new water supply by 2043.

“We won’t run out of water, but what we might run out is cheap water,” Hogg told the audience.

With a few miles of coastline surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico, there is saltwater that can eventually be desalinated for drinking. But the problem with that is that it is expensive.

Hogg also explained that Tampa Bay water is expanding its ability to treat river water for drinking, as a wholesale water utility in the area. It also focuses on Lake Tarpon, the region’s largest freshwater lake, and is considering reclaimed water as a potential source of routes.

“Reclaimed water is a very large source, but it’s not the point where we can turn a project into drinking water. We need to do more research and a lot of general involvement to make sure the community is embracing those projects,” Hogg said.

Mosaics become heavy to inject underground wastewater

Over the past year, Mosaic Co. has applied four facilities, including two in Hillsboro County, to begin testing or injections of phosphate wastewater underground. As such, some environmental advocacy groups have worried about possible leaks and contamination of the aquifer.

On Tuesday, Mosaic and state regulators will hold a public meeting on the Fortune 500 Mining Company’s plans to begin testing underground injections at factory city facilities.

Provenzano said sending company wastewater underground could be a responsible way to deal with by-products of fertilizer production.

“The reason we are considering it as a disposal option is because we are sensitive to the fact that we want to find other ways to protect nutrients from surface water,” Provenzano said.

Provenzano also said the biggest controversy over the 2016 incident, where more than 200 million gallons of contaminated water from the mosaics of contaminated water discharged into the aquifers revolves around disclosure and transparency.

“I think our company learned a really important lesson there, and I think this has led to some regulatory changes regarding reporting pollution cases across the state,” Provenzano said.

Not only one pollution, but also a “smoking gun”

For Tampa Bay, contamination takes on a variety of forms. This is why the solutions to tackle each source are complex.

Griffin asked each panelist how he viewed the biggest threat facing the region’s water quality.

Brisbin said the rapid conversion of costbone habitat into apartment complexes, roads and sidewalks would lead to contaminated spills that would enter Tampa Bay. A lot of concrete means there are fewer natural barriers to slowing down and filtering the flow before dumping into the bay.

“It’s really important that we all act as individuals and make the best choice we can, but to make the really big changes… policymakers and regulators need to be on board,” Brisbin said.

Brisbin also highlighted the importance of federal environmental regulators like the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as the Trump administration wipes out the federal workforce.

Provenzano also said there needs to be more political will from elected leaders on water quality. Clark said that while the area is aiming to see major improvements enter the bay to control rainwater runoff, the recent loss of sea grass is evidence that more needs to be done.

Go outside and enjoy the bay

Experts say that immersing the public in the nature of the bay is perhaps one of the most effective ways to promote action.

“If the next generation takes our place, and they don’t love the bay, how do we expect to protect what we have already begun?” Clark said. “So leave your family, have your kids, talk to your school teachers, and organize your programs.”

Sherwood said: “Go out into the bay – experience it,” he said. “Look at how (the Bay) changes over time. If negative circumstances change, raise awareness in the community about what the problem is and find a solution.”