Getting to the source of the bacteria in northwest Florida waters
ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Fla. (WKRG) — Our local watersheds are a vital part of everyday life here on the Gulf Coast, but with Pensacola being one of the nation’s oldest cities, infrastructure has declined over many years, and the population has only increased over time.
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Therefore, water quality has been a growing concern.
Matt Posner, the Director of the Pensacola & Perdido Bays Estuary Program (PPBEP), says, “Our region is not unlike many other areas across the Gulf Coast. We have long-standing water quality impairments. Primarily related to bacteria impairments.”
That’s why PPBEP has secured 3 million dollars in funding through the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) to go beyond just testing for water quality.
“This Microbial source tracking project, MST, really gets at, as in the name, getting to the source of the bacteria in these surface waters,” says Posner.
Taking water quality tests just shows the presence of bacteria at one specific time. It does not tell you the source of that bacteria, whether it be a human, an avian, or an animal source.
This project is part of a larger effort to improve the watersheds in the Pensacola and Perdido Bays watersheds. There will be six projects total with over $50 million going towards these projects.
From collecting samples across the area to testing the water inside the lab, a lot of time and hard work goes into this project, but PPBEP won’t be doing this project alone.
Posner says, “It’s a very labor-intensive process so in this project, we’ll be working with our partners across the region city of Pensacola, Escambia County, Santa Rosa County, and Emerald Coast Utilities Authority to look at nine sub-basins in this watershed between Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.”
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This data is very important to everyone involved.
Amy Tootle, the Public Works and Engineering Director with the City of Pensacola, says this is great for, “being able to have that data and be able to go back into our systems and be able to look and see where we can move the needle and make improvements to decrease the bacteria in our waterways.”
This project is also a huge help to the oyster industry.
Some harvesting areas are closed due to increased bacteria levels, but it is not a complete closure. “Just because there’s this expanded shellfish harvesting closure area in part of the base system, our aquaculture operators are very much alive and well and producing quality oysters to bring to the market,” said Posner.
The Pensacola & Perdido Bays Estuary Program: Growing the Gulf Coast by getting to the source of the issues that affect our local waters.
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