/
Between late 2019 and early 2020, Tampa Bay saw an estimated decline of 5,411 acres of seagrass, according to the Southwest Florida Water Management District.
Scientists say pollution from runoff and wastewater leaks adds nutrients to the bay, fueling algae growth that hurts seagrass beds.
Seagrasses provide shelter and food to a diverse community of animals, from small invertebrates to large fish, crabs, turtles, marine mammals and birds.
Provisional results released earlier this month by the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) show that Tampa Bay now harbors 35,240 acres of seagrass. That s a vast improvement from the 1990 s when a plan was established to boost recovery of this vital part of the ecosystem.
Between 2018 and 2020, as much as 13% of the seagrass acreage was lost. That’s more than a 5,000-acre decline in seagrass, with the worst impacts in Old Tampa Bay.
Hopes confirmed there haven’t been any major changes to the former plant’s status since April 8. He says the steel patch that was fixed to secure the leak is holding, and the plans to move forward with an injection well are still in the works.
Scientists from Manatee, Pinellas, and Hillsborough counties, as well as local colleges and Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection are continuing to monitor the water quality around Port Manatee and the bay. Maya Burke with the Tampa Bay Estuary Program says based on the data that she is seeing right now, she is cautiously optimistic.
It's been nearly a month and no new wastewater discharges have been needed at the old Piney Point fertilizer plant after workers installed a steel plate to stop the leak. Now, the major concern is the remaining wastewater.