Providing clean, safe drinking water is a top priority at Tampa Bay Water. The drinking water we provide our member governments is safe: it meets or is better than all local, state and federal drinking water regulations.Your water is a blend of groundwater, river water and desalinated seawater.
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Is Tampa Bay Water safe to swim?
TAMPA, Fla.The Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough County said the amount of Enterococci bacteria is too high, making the water dangerous to swim in. They said that bacteria is usually found in the intestinal tract of humans and animals and is an indication of fecal pollution.
Is the Tampa Bay Water contaminated?
Contamination from Piney Point has diluted in Tampa Bay, researchers say.Contamination levels in part of Tampa Bay near a massive discharge of polluted water from the old Piney Point fertilizer plant site have declined, researchers said Monday.
Are there sharks in Old Tampa Bay?
About a dozen shark species frequent Tampa Bay. Tenants include hammerheads, bonnetheads, nurse sharks, blacktips, lemon sharks and bull sharks to name a few. Sharks migrate in and out of Florida’s waters each year.
Does Tampa Bay have alligators?
While alligators can be found throughout the Southeastern U.S., the crocodile footprint in the U.S. is generally limited to South Florida, though they have occasionally been spotted as far north as the Tampa Bay area. That makes Florida the only ecosystem in the world where alligators and crocodiles peacefully coexist.
Is Florida water contaminated?
Where Is Florida’s Water Coming From? In Florida, 90 percent of drinking water is groundwater. This groundwater has the chance to become contaminated from many sources.Toxins such as herbicides, factory solvents, disinfectants, and even low levels of arsenic and cyanide have been found in Florida’s drinking water.
Where is the Florida toxic water leak?
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 is Piney Point Florida?
Piney Point phosphate plant is an industrial site in Manatee County, Florida and the location of a former fertilizer plant. The land is currently owned by HRK Holdings, which leases portions of the land to industrial tenants under the name Eastport.
Is Tampa Bay shark infested?
Tampa Bay is home to some of the most shark infested waters in all of the Gulf of Mexico. Bull sharks, hammerhead sharks, blacktip sharks, lemon sharks, and many more species of shark roam our waters.
Why is Tampa Bay Water Brown?
The FWC describes red tide – also known as a harmful algal bloom – as a higher-than-normal concentration of microscopic algae. A bloom happens when there are large concentrations of cells, which can discolor water – making it reddish or brown.
Why is air quality bad in Tampa?
Tampa’s issues, they say, are mainly created by high-ozone days, when auto emissions and power plant pollutants hang in the air, heated by the Florida sun. Despite being near the Gulf, the breeze is not as strong as the ocean winds on Florida’s east coast, they say, so the smog lingers.
Is Tampa a good place to live?
Other adjoining cities, towns and suburbs nestled along Tampa Bay expand this greater metro to over 4 million inhabitants. So many options can make finding a place to live a little daunting.
Where can you live in Florida without alligators?
Some of the more popular areas in Central Florida that aren’t occupied by alligators or sharks are freshwater spring-fed rivers. Some of these may include: Ichetucknee Springs, Madison Blue Spring, Withlacoochee, and Big Bend Saltwater Paddling Trail.
What city in Florida has the most alligators?
The largest population of gators live in Gainesville, FL. They live in freshwater rivers, lakes, swamps, and marshes. There are an estimated five million American alligators in the southeastern U.S. with a quarter of the alligator population in Florida.
What is wrong with Florida’s water?
Ongoing water pollution and harmful algal blooms, including red tides and toxic blue-green algae, are putting public health at risk and causing massive die-offs of fish, marine life and sea turtles.For instance, cyanobacteria proliferate in the nutrient-rich fresh waters of Lake Okeechobee in Central Florida.
How bad is Florida tap water?
Yes, the water in Florida is safe to drink because local governments follow strict federal and state laws on monitoring water contaminants.These standards insure that there are no harmful chemicals inadvertently added to the drinking water supply.”
Is Florida water safe to swim in?
Home to more than 8,426 miles of coastline, Florida’s beaches are all typically safe for swimming year-round, notes the Florida Department of Health. However, certain conditions, such as water quality, the presence of marine wildlife, large waves and rip currents might make a specific beach unsafe at a given time.
What’s wrong with the water in Tampa?
Florida officials are pumping the leaking Piney Point reservoir’s contaminated water into Tampa Bay, where it could cause even more problems. A leak in a contaminated reservoir has caused evacuations in Manatee County, Florida.The toxic water could ruinously affect the local sea life and waterway.
What is leaking into Tampa Bay?
The reservoir contains what are called phosphogypsum stacks, a leftover from the phosphate mined for fertilizer.Officials say the water contains nitrogen, phosphorus, ammonia and small amounts of radium and uranium, but is not radioactive.
What is leaking in Tampa Bay?
Polluted wastewater at an abandoned phosphate mine in Manatee County was pumped into Tampa Bay to stop a leak from flooding surrounding neighborhoods. Stakeholders say this could have consequences for the marine ecosystem.
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.