PALMETTO – A recent study shows the contaminated water from the 2021 Piney Point spill, which contributed to algae blooms and red tide in Tampa Bay waterways, traveled farther than originally thought.
According to the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program (SBEP), a chemical signature from the spill was found more than 30 miles away, in St. Joseph Sound near Tarpon Springs.
Immediately after the spill in 2021, SBEP partnered with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, Manatee, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the University of Florida and the University of South Florida to set up a series of sites to monitor existing conditions and determine the extent of the spill’s impact, according to the SBEP.
Results of that collaboration among agencies showed evidence of algae blooms and high concentrations of red tide in the months following the spill.
“A chemical signature, unique to the Piney Point effluent, was also found at a location in St. Joseph Sound, originally chosen to be a reference site, as it was assumed to be far enough away from the spill to avoid impact,” according to the SBEP website. “This was not the case as evidence of the Piney Point spill was also found at this location.”
In 2021, FDEP authorized the intentional emergency discharge of 215 million gallons of wastewater from the former phosphate plant into Tampa Bay to avoid a potential flood after a leak was discovered in the waste storage system. Surrounding homes and businesses were evacuated.
From March 30 to April 9, 2021, the wastewater poured into the bay, adding an estimated 186 metric tons of nitrogen, exceeding typical annual nitrogen loads in a matter of days, according to a report released by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program. The nitrogen worsened toxic cyanobacteria blooms that peaked in June, followed by a bloom of toxic red tide algae that caused fish kills, triggering the cleanup of more than 1,600 metric tons of dead fish, according to the report.
Last March, Manatee County Utilities crews began disposal of those waters into a permitted injection well.
The well, drilled to a depth of 3,300 feet below land surface, was completed by Fort Myers-based Youngquist Brothers Inc., working with consultants ASRus of Tampa and Manatee County Utilities staff. By collaboratively working with the FDEP, crews were able to expedite the well work, which was completed in late 2022.
The well holds Piney Point’s process water in a confined saltwater aquifer over a half mile below the surface under the Floridan aquifer, the state’s drinking water source.
The phosphate process water will continue to be drained from the reservoirs atop nearby phosphogypsum stacks as the plant is permanently closed, and will be pre-treated before injection.
