Although Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection said Monday evening that fears of a second leak in the Piney Point Reservoir were unfounded, the body of water about 40 miles south of Tampa full of toxic waste and fertilizer runoff remains on the brink of collapse.
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Where is the toxic water leak in Florida?
It’s been a week since a significant leak at a long-abandoned fertilizer plant in the Tampa Bay area threatened the surrounding groundwater, soil, and local water supplies. Last weekend, officials ordered more than 300 families living near the 676-acre Piney Point plant site in Manatee county to evacuate.
What Florida water is toxic?
Emergency crews in Florida have been working to prevent a “catastrophic” flood after a leak was found in a large reservoir of toxic wastewater.Officials said the 77-acre (31-hectare) reservoir holds millions of gallons of water containing phosphorus and nitrogen from an old phosphate plant.
Where is the Florida toxic waste?
Piney Point
This waste is stored in mountainous piles called gypstacks that are hundreds of acres wide and hundreds of feet tall. Florida has 1 billion tons of radioactive phosphogypsum in 25 stacks, including the Piney Point gypstack and the New Wales gypstack.
Why is the water in Florida toxic right now?
Some produce toxins that have harmful effects on people, fish, marine mammals, and birds. In Florida and Texas, this is primarily caused by the harmful algae species Karenia brevis.The blooms can also cause large fish kills and discolored water along the coast.
Is Piney Point still leaking?
While the seepage from the pond continued for weeks, none of that contaminated water has left the Piney Point site since April 8 when the discharge into Tampa Bay was turned off. The leak has been contained in stormwater ponds on the site, FDEP said.
Is the Southwest Florida water Toxic?
Too much water discharged from Lake Okeechobee can result in toxic algal blooms.
Why are so many dead fish washing up on Florida’s beaches?
The red tide algae blooms continue to plague coastal Florida. Toxic algae that blooms underwater is fatal for marine life, causing massive fish kills to wash ashore. More than four counties on the state’s Gulf Coast are affected.
Why are dead fish washing up in Florida?
Dead fish, ruined vacations, and other consequences of Florida’s red tide can be tied to just one tiny species: Karenia brevis. It’s a type of marine algae, or phytoplankton, native to the Gulf of Mexico.Rotting fish essentially fertilize the water, which in turn creates more algae.
What did Piney Point dump?
The Piney Point site once housed a plant where manufacturers processed phosphate to make an ingredient in fertilizer. That work left a byproduct called phosphogypsum, a chalky substance that federal environmental officials require to be held in strictly monitored stacks because it is radioactive.
What is wrong with Piney Point?
In late March, site engineers found a leak in the liner of the Piney Point reservoir pond, where millions of gallons of polluted water from phosphate mining operations were being stored.Phosphate is mined from the ground to be processed into fertilizer.
What happens if Piney Point collapses?
Piney Point sits less than three miles from three important waterways — Tampa Bay, Bishop Harbor and Cockroach Bay. No matter which way a collapse spills, the water is bound to drain into those waterways, polluting aquatic resources with nutrient-rich water that could lead to a harmful algae bloom.
Does Naples Florida get red tide?
SW Florida is currently experiencing a red tide bloom. People with chronic respiratory illnesses such as asthma or emphysema should avoid going to the beach as these illnesses may be aggravated.
What is red tide Florida?
Red tides, also called harmful algal blooms (HABs), occur when microscopic algae multiply to higher-than-normal concentrations, often discoloring the water. Although more than 50 HAB species occur in the Gulf of Mexico, one of the most well-known species is Karenia brevis, the red tide organism.In Florida waters, K.
Is the water toxic in Cape Coral Florida?
The water is dead and toxic from Cape Coral all the way up past Clearwater.” Those claims are false, yet as of Wednesday, more than 170,000 people have shared the post on Facebook.
Where is red tide the worst in Florida?
According to FWC’s red tide map, the worst of the recent blooms are located offshore and onshore of north Pinellas County beaches, near Clearwater, as well as Anna Maria Island and Bradenton Beach in Manatee County.
How long does the red tide last in Florida 2021?
“ The FWC says most blooms last between three and five months, but some can persist for longer than a year.
How bad is the red tide in Florida this year?
Now 2021 will go down as another year in which red tide ravaged parts of Florida’s Gulf Coast. Almost 1,700 tons of red tide debris, consisting of dead fish, sand, and seaweed, have been removed from Pinellas County beaches and waterways, according to local officials.
When was the last red tide in Florida?
2018
We don’t know the end of it.” The last summertime red tide in the area was in 2018, and it was so bad it killed manatees and dolphins. In humans, a red tide can cause respiratory irritations, and it’s of course a deterrent to tourists looking to enjoy the beaches.
Why is there dead fish in Clearwater Beach?
Low levels with slight irritation at Madeira Beach, Indian Shores, Indian Rocks Beach, Belleair Beach, Clearwater Beach and Caladesi Island. Waters pushed onshore by Elsa contained thousands of dead fish and other marine life killed by the toxins released by Karenia brevis, the red tide organism.
Why are there so many dead fish at Clearwater Beach?
The hordes of fish were killed by a red tide, a large “bloom” of toxic algae that appears on Florida’s Gulf Coast about once a year. Exposure to blooms can cause respiratory irritation in humans.
