WATCH the animation of the Piney Point water flowing around Tampa Bay at this link:
ST PETERSBURG -- The University of South Florida's College of Marine Science has retooled a computer model it uses to detect red tide to monitor the wastewater discharged from the Piney Point fertilizer plant site. It's showing how that contaminated water is diluting and discharging as it moves along the Bay and Gulf. So far, performance is matching the forecast.
USF researcher Bob Weisberg, who heads the Ocean Circulation Lab at USF, says the highest nutrient concentrations presently occur along the east side of lower Tampa Bay. The discharge water is sloshing back and forth with the tides, while slowly moving south from Port Manatee, diluting and eventually making its way to the Gulf of Mexico.
“We’re thrilled to be able to share our results with our partners and response officials,” Weisberg said. “We’ve got a terrific team on this 24/7 and are committed to ensuring our science helps inform effective action to safeguard Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.”
Weisberg says areas where the wastewater is more concentrated appear brown instead of green. Dilution is a slow process, Weisberg said, and he expects low concentrations of Piney Point water to be present in the Bay for months.
So far, he says, scientists have not found toxic levels of red tide in Bay waters.
Here's a link to the animation:
Photo: USF