What is the major source of pollution to Tampa Bay?
Nitrogen is a major pollutant in Tampa Bay. Although it is an essential plant nutrient, excess amounts of nitrogen fuel the growth of algae that clouds the water and robs it of oxygen. Water with an overdose of nitrogen is often a murky pea-green color and is said to be “eutrophic.” Wastewater (sewage) discharges were once a major source of nitrogen to Tampa Bay. However, in the 1970s, major improvements to sewage treatment plants reduced the nitrogen in the wastewater, or “effluent,” by more than 90 percent, leading to clearer water and sparking a recovery of seagrasses that continues to this day. Currently, more than half the nitrogen entering Tampa Bay comes from stormwater runoff from urban and residential areas. Stormwater is the water that runs off the land with rainfall, carrying with it fertilizer and pesticide residues, as well as trash. About one-quarter of the present nitrogen load to Tampa Bay comes from atmospheric deposition, or air pollution, primarily from power plants
