NATIONAL
ESTUARY
PROGRAM
REDUCING NUTRIENT ENRICHMENT
Sarasota Bay spans two counties (Sarasota and Manatee) and is located on the southwest coast of Florida. The area—geologically formed by a chain of
barrier islands separating the Bay from the Gulf of Mexico—includes nine municipalities and townships. At less than 150 square miles, the urbanized
watersheds are considered relatively small.
Formerly dominated by sawgrass, marsh, and ponds, the watersheds were drained from 1920 through the 1940s for agricultural purposes and the drainage
systems were later expanded for stormwater conveyance and waste disposal. By 1990, nitrogen pollution was estimated at 480 percent above pristine and seagrass had declined
by 39 percent. By 1998, as macro and blue-green algal blooms persisted, particularly during the summer months, the Bay was listed as impaired for elevated nutrients caused
primarily by ineffective wastewater treatment plants, septic tanks, and stormwater from the drainage network. It was discovered that wastewater treatment plants were operating
at secondary levels or below (with limited nitrogen removal) and septic tanks were located in inappropriate areas, leading into adjacent waterways.
THE NATIONAL ESTUARY PROGRAM IN ACTION Sarasota Bay Estuary Program
When developing its Compre-
hensive Conservation and Man-
agement Plan (CCMP), the Sara-
sota Bay Estuary Program (SBEP)
called for the consolidation of
small wastewater treatment
plants, removal of septic tanks,
upgrades of regional treatment
plants to Advanced Wastewater
Treatment (AWT) standards, and/
or the removal of effluent dis-
charge for alternative use.
Although stormwater pollution is
being addressed, a concentrated
effort was made to reduce
wastewater pollution, mainly by
proposing that all wastewater
discharged to the Bay meet AWT
standards of 3mg/l for TN and
that all wastewater be reclaimed
for alternative supply to reduce
aquifer deterioration in south-
west Florida. Specific actions
SBEP partners took to implement
the plan's policies to reduce
excessive nutrient levels in
the Sarasota Bay watersheds
include:
• Manatee County spent $40
million to establish and imple-
ment a no-discharge policy for
wastewater and to construct a
reclaimed wastewater system
for use in citrus and vegetable
operations in eastern Manatee
County.
• The City of Sarasota spent
$77 million to upgrade their
wastewater treatment plant to
AWT technology, provide sewer
service to remaining septic
areas in the city, and provide
reused water to urban and
agricultural operations.
EFFECTIVE
EFFICIENT
ADAPTIVE
COLLABORATIVE
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• Sarasota County spent an
estimated $50 million to date
to build a new regional waste-
water treatment facility, provide
sewer service to priority areas
in the watershed, and consoli-
date remaining small package
treatment plants to the regional
facility.
The remaining municipalities
were serviced by the larger op-
erations that have resulted in
major improvements in water
quality. Wastewater loading to
Sarasota Bay has been reduced
by more than 85 percent as a
result of the CCMP policy, and
corresponding reductions in
chlorophyll and total nitrogen
concentrations in the Bay have
occurred.
The Florida Department of Envi-
ronmental Protection (FDEP) has
established protective standards
as an anti-degradation policy
under the Florida Impaired Wa-
ters Rule. SBEP and its partners
continue to see improving trends
in water quality. Water clarity has
increased by .5 meters, with
seagrass now growing to depths
of 10 feet as total nitrogen
concentrations continue to
decline and seagrass coverage
expands.
In fact, the increase in total sea-
grass acreage is at 96 percent of
what it was in 1950—a total in-
crease of 1,253 acres, and a
conversion of patchy to 4,482
acres of continuous seagrass
beds.
Equally impressive, in 2008,
scallops have returned to
portions of the Bay in significant
numbers—the highest counts
in the State of Florida. Imple-
mentation of the "Wastewater
Treatment and Reclamation"
Action Plan in the CCMP will be
successfully completed in 2015
with removal of the remaining
small wastewater treatment
plants and the hook-up of
the remaining areas on septic
systems in priority areas of
Sarasota County.
As a result, Sarasota Bay proper
has been proposed by FDEP for
delisting as impaired for nutri-
ents based on an extensive anal-
ysis of chlorophyll levels and
sea-grass recovery.
Visit www.sarasotabay.org to
learn more about this and other
SBEP efforts.
EPA's National Estuary Program
(NEP) is a unique and successful
coastal watershed-based program
established in 1987 under the
Clean Water Act Amendments.
The NEP involves the public and
collaborates with partners to pro-
tect, restore, and maintain the wa-
ter quality and ecological integrity
of 28 estuaries of national signifi-
cance located in 18 coastal states
and Puerto Rico.
For more information about the
NEP go to www.epa.gov/owow/
estuaries.
The NEP: Implementing the Clean Water Act in ways that are Effective, Efficient, Adaptive, and Collaborative.
EPA-842F09001
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