Home About Our Estuaries Our Programs Get Involved Library Visit our Facebook page Visit our YouTube channel Visit our Instagram page HomeOur ProgramsWater Quality Water Quality SBEP's Water Quality Goals Improve water transparency. Manage the quantity and improve the quality of stormwater runoff to Sarasota Bay. Nitrogen is the primary pollutant of concern in Sarasota Bay. Algae growth in the Bay responds quickly to elevated concentrations of nitrogen. While some algae growth is normal in an estuary, uncontrolled growth leads to declines in water quality and can eventually cause reductions in seagrass habitats and harm to wildlife. SBEP's Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan focuses on actions to reduce nitrogen inputs to the bay and its tidal creeks. SBEP's water quality improvement efforts cover a variety of topics: Stormwater Wastewater Air Pollution Algae Blooms Stormwater Reducing stormwater pollution is vital to restoring Sarasota Bay. Some of the water that falls in the watershed reaches the Bay through the ground, but most of it is carried by creeks and streams via stormwater runoff. Without a stormwater treatment system such as a swale or detention pond, stormwater runoff usually flows into the nearest water body without treatment. Runoff carries pollutants such as litter, motor oil, gasoline, fertilizers, pesticides, pet wastes, sediments, and anything else that can float, dissolve, or be swept away by moving water. The amount of stormwater pollution reaching the Bay has increased as the area’s population has grown and the watershed has become more "hardened" with surfaces like parking lots and driveways that don't allow rain to percolate into the ground. Public Engagement SBEP and partners work to increase the proportion of area residents practicing bay-friendly behaviors like picking up pet waste, following local fertilizer ordinances, and establishing low-maintenance zones around the Bay and its creeks. Click here to learn more about what you can do to reduce stormwater pollution. Low-Impact Development Low Impact Development (LID) is an environmentally sensitive approach to developing land and managing stormwater runoff through better integration of the built environment with the natural environment. Low Impact Development principles and practices allow a developed site to maintain its predevelopment watershed and ecological functions. Such design practices include saving trees on the site, installing cisterns to capture rainwater, using pervious surfaces like bricks or shells instead of impervious ones, creating green roofs, and planting bay-friendly landscapes. How We Measure Water Quality SBEP's partners, Sarasota County Stormwater and Manatee County Natural Resources Department, conduct routine monitoring of multiple water quality parameters in Sarasota Bay and its tidal creeks. In total, thousands of water quality samples are collected in the Sarasota Bay watershed every year. These data are critical for resource managers to understand the status and trends of creeks and bays in the Sarasota-Manatee area. Visit the USF Water Atlas for more information about water quality monitoring and to view water quality data and analysis. Mapping seagrass habitats helps managers better understand water quality trends over a longer time period. Seagrass meadows grow bigger when more light reaches the bay bottom, meaning that water clarity is high and there is not excess phytoplankton, macroalgae, or sediment blocking sunlight. Seagrass meadows contract in size when less light reaches the bay bottom, usually indicating that one or more sources of pollution are contributing to low water clarity. The Southwest Florida Water Management District has mapped seagrass meadows and other habitats in Sarasota Bay and other Southwest Florida estuaries every other year since 1988. This dataset provides resource managers with an excellent barometer for bay health. Since 1989, the area of seagrass meadows between Palma Sola Bay and the Venice Inlet has increased by over 47%, indicating long-term improvements to water quality and clarity. Nearly 13,000 acres of seagrass now grow in Sarasota-Manatee bays, an amount that far surpasses the level that was understood to be "restorable" just 15 years ago. None of these seagrasses were planted - they all recovered naturally as water quality improved. Data: Southwest Florida Water Management District The relationship between water quality and the extent of seagrass meadows in Sarasota Bay was an integral part of the development of the Numeric Nutrient Criteria (NNC) for Sarasota Bay. The NNC for Sarasota Bay are quantifiable targets for the concentration of total nitrogen, chlorophyll, and phosphorus in each embayment. These targets were adopted in 2011 to be protective of seagrass meadows. Total nitrogen, chlorophyll, and phosphorus concentrations that are consistently above the criteria for an embayment over time suggest declining water quality conditions that may not support seagrass survival and growth. Click to read more about numeric nutrient criteria development for SBEP estuaries. Your Role in Keeping Our Waters Clean Community members can help us keep Sarasota Bay healthy by adopting Bay-Friendly Living habits like reducing fertilizer use, properly disposing of pet waste, maintaining septic systems, and more. Residents can also help by reporting pollution of the Bay, its tributaries, and storm drains. The links below connect to anonymous forms for reporting illicit dumping and other environmental concerns directly to appropriate authorities. Use these forms to report discharges or dumping into lakes, streams, rivers, canals, ditches, stormwater ponds, or even into a manhole, stormdrain or curb inlet in the street. You may also use these forms to report apparent water pollution events and other environmental issues such as algal blooms and fish kills. Report Water Pollution in Sarasota County Report Here Report Water Pollution in Manatee County Report Here Sarasota Bay Estuary Program 111 S. Orange Avenue, Suite 200W Sarasota, Florida 34236 941-955-8085 941-955-8081 Join Our Mailing List Report Pollution Email SBEP Staff Public Meetings Sitemap Visit our Facebook page Visit our YouTube Channel Visit our Instagram page Search for: The Sarasota Bay Estuary Program is dedicated to restoring the area's greatest natural asset - Sarasota Bay. We offer special thanks to our partners: Sarasota County, Manatee County, City of Sarasota, City of Bradenton, Town of Longboat Key, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Southwest Florida Water Management District. Copyright ©2021 Sarasota Bay Estuary Program. All Rights Reserved. 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