Safety Harbor has designated a new drainage project that will prevent

Saftey Harbor has com up with a drainage project that will prevent some of the runoff from polluting the Tampa Bay.

pollutants from running off the roads into the bay.

Tampa Bay may look beautiful from a distance, but on the bottom, there is an unhealthy layer of muck.

Environmental groups found Tampa Bay has several water quality problems, and some cities are looking for fixes.

“They determined that the muck is fecal material from overabundance of plankton,” Saftey Harbor Mayor Andy Steingold said, “But plankton in water is eating over-abundantly due to the high nitrogen and nutrients in the water.”

Saftey Harbor’s drainage project will prevent those and other pollutants from running off the roads and into the bay in the future.

Crews will re-grade the roadway and install small ditches along both sides of the road. When harmful materials reach the ditches they’ll be caught before running into the bay.

Safety Harbor staff engineer Debbie Drees says the road project will begin near the Safety Harbor Spa and run south along Bayshore Boulevard to the mouth of Alligator Lake.

Drees says even with the city’s efforts, residents will still need to do their part.

“If a cigarette butt is thrown in the street it’s going to wind up in the bay,” Drees said, “A filter on a cigarette takes nine years to actually decompose.”

The project will cost around $3 million, and Safety Harbor staff engineers say it should help clean about 37,000 pounds of pollutants from the bay. The city will find out soon how much grant money they will receive and construction will begin by the end of the year.

Source: http://www.baynews9.com

Tips for preventing stormwater pollution from your home:

Lawn care:

Don’t overwater your lawn. Consider using a soaker hose instead of sprinkler.

Use pesticides and fertilizers sparingly. When use is necessary, use these chemicals in the recommended amounts.

Compost or mulch yard waste. Don’t leave it in the street or sweep it into storm drains or streams.

Cover piles of dirt or mulch being used in landscaping projects.

Auto care:

Use a commercial car wash that treats or recycles its wastewater, or wash your card on your yard so the water infiltrates into the ground.

Repair leaks and dispose of used auto fluids and batteries at designated drop-off or recylcing locations.

Pet waste:

When walking your pet, remembered to pick up the waste and dispose of it properly. Flushing pet waste is the best disposal method.

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

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