Tampa Bay estuary program

Before Hurricane Ian struck, scientists were monitoring water from the mouth of Tampa Bay near Manatee River, all the way up to Cockroach Bay, on the southeastern shore of Hillsborough County for possible effects of a Piney Point stormwater release.

After decades of pollution suffocated Tampa Bay and killed half its seagrass and much of its marine life, unprecedented political cooperation and hundreds of science-guided projects brought the estuary back to life. Tampa Bay became a symbol for the success of the Clean Water Act of 1972, but seagrasses and fish have begun to die again.

Researchers hope to better understand Tampa Bay’s potential role as a nursery ground for young sharks and to identify potential threats to their habitat

New grant funding will expand the research on algae bloom nutrients in three ways: a more expensive lab analysis, another kind of bloom added to the study, and a bilingual educational program created for the public.

Even though recent water quality tests have not been detecting nutrients of the Piney Point wastewater spill, researchers believe current red tide and cyanobacteria blooms across Tampa Bay are likely being exacerbated by the nutrients which still exist in the bay's ecosystems.

It's partly attributed to cars on the numerous bridges in the area that are helping to feed algae blooms.

After 31 years with the Southwest Florida Water Management District, Brandt Henningsen has retired as Chief Advisory Environmental Scientist. WUSF's…

On a hot spring afternoon, with the waters of Tampa Bay lapping the shores of Tampa's Picnic Island in the background, Rep. Kathy Castor and…

There's good news on at least one environmental front in Florida. Water flowing into Tampa Bay has been cleaned up so much in recent decades that…