The Tampa Bay Estuary Program will provide nearly $100,000 in matching funds to facilitate implementation of innovative stormwater treatment projects in the Tampa Bay area.

The Estuary Program contributions will supplement grant monies supplied by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act, which addresses non-point pollution. TBEP was not required to provide funds for the projects, but offered to do so as an incentive for its local and regional partners to participate in the 319 progam.

The Estuary Program agreed to pay a portion of the local match for the following three projects, which were selected for funding by EPA:

• Implementation of a “Living Machine” wastewater treament system at the Emerson Point Conservation Park in Manatee County. This system will utilize bacteria and other microorganism to digest waste, then send the remaining effluent to a wetland system for additional treatment. Through this process, at least 90 percent of the wastewater generated by park visitors will be recycled. The system itself will be a high-profile educational tool for visitors to this unique county-owned nature preserve and environmental education center at the mouth of the Manatee River. The total costs of the project is about $291,000, with TBEP contributing $35,000.
• Revamping of a highly urbanized drainage basin in the city of Temple Terrace, where untreated stormwater currently is discharged directly to the Hillsborough River. A major retrofit program spearheaded by the Southwest Florida Water Management District will include installation of a 26 cfs continuous delective separation (CDS) treatment unit in conjunction with an excavated sediment sump and shallow marsh system to filter pollutants from the 132-acre drainage basin. A companion monitoring study will evaluate the success of the experimental system. TBEP is contributing $25,000 toward the estimated $820,000 cost of this project.
• Dredging of sediments and construction of a sediment sump to improve water quality in Alligator Creek, which drains into Tampa Bay. This project, sponsored by the City of Clearwater, will remove contaminated sediments at the western edge of Cliff Stephens Park ,where Alligator Creek widens into a series of manmade lakes. Additionally, construction of a sediment sump will prevent further sediment accumulation. The total cost of this project is $432,000, with TBEP contributing $37,500.

Stormwater is the major source of excess nitrogen to Tampa Bay, accounting for about half of the bay’s annual nitrogen burden. The Tampa Bay Estuary Program has adopted a “hold the line” approach to managing nitrogen that caps nitrogen loadings at 1992-1994 levels to foster continued recovery of seagrass beds in the bay. Under this approach, local governments, industries and other partners of the Program must actually reduce total nitrogen loadings to the bay by about 17 tons per year to offset expected increases due to population growth.