Page 11 - Estuary Program News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Tampa Bay lost 13 percent of its seagrass in two years, study shows Experts say reducing pollution that fuels algal blooms is critical.     Manatee grass as seen last week off Bishop Harbor south of Port Manatee. [ DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD | Tampa Bay Times ] Published Earlier today Tampa Bay lost about 13 percent of its seagrass in recent years, a survey shows, leaving the ecosystem short of a goal for building upon decades of environmental progress. Between 2018 and 2020, the bay saw an estimated decline of 5,411 acres of seagrass, according to reviews from the Southwest Florida Water Ma...

Largo settles wastewater lawsuit over concerns of pollution in Old Tampa Bay Zachary T. Sampson, Tampa Bay Times Largo officials have committed to improving their wastewater system in a settlement with environmentalists who sued over concerns about the city polluting Tampa Bay. The agreement aims to reduce the amount of contaminants, including nitrogen, released from the city to Old Tampa Bay around Feather Sound. Nitrogen is a nutrient that in excess can fuel algal blooms damaging to seagrass beds — a crucial part of the estuary. City officials are vowing to upgrade treatme...

‘50,000 bags of fertilizer:’ What could Piney Point do to Tampa Bay? Scientists are trying to forecast what comes next. Environmentalists fear algal blooms and fish kills.     Updated 1 hour ago The focus for emergency teams at the old Piney Point phosphate plant property is stopping a flood from surging out of an enormous, leaking reservoir of polluted water. Success on that front could mean pumping a majority of the 480 million gallons of wastewater into Tampa Bay, posing an ecological danger to the treasured estuary that clean water advocates say may endure for weeks or mo...

This bioretention bed features plants similar to those proposed for Besse Park. Photo courtesy: Horsley Witten Group The selectmen spoke favorably on Feb. 9 about proposed upgrades to Besse Park that would reduce pollution from stormwater runoff that is channeled into the Agawam River. Besse Park, the strip of land at the end of Main Street that features picnic tables and a fishing pier, is also home to two storm drains that discharge directly into the river. Those drains significantly pollute the river, making the site a good candidate for upgrades. The park was identified by the Buzzards Ba...

Not work because the waves will be carrying the oil over the booms. same thing for the in-shore protection they are putting up. they are really concerned. this is just the worst thing that could be happening right now. here where i am in a fishing town, port sulfur, louisiana, the fisher, shrimpers, oystermen are concerned this could ruin their industry if the oil comes in as feared. also the wildlife concerns here are a major concern. hundreds of species could be affected. we talked to someone from estuary program in louisiana. he says this could have a catastrophic effect on birds, marine li...