Environmentalists warn about fertilizer impacting our waterways

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    PINELLAS COUNTY, Florida (WFTS) — Local environmentalists are asking residents to limit their use of fertilizer.

Experts said with more rain in the Tampa Bay Area, more storm water run-off and water pollution will affect the waterways.

Tampa Bay Waterkeeper said fertilizer making its way into our waterways can cause water visibility and quality to worsen.

It’s an issue that’s obvious in other parts of Florida, like Sanibel Island.

The Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation posted a comparison photo, showing how much the water quality changed within a seven-day period after the area received over eleven inches of rain. Much of the water run-off came from the Caloosahatchee River.

Justin Tramble with the Tampa Bay Waterkeeper said he’s already seeing the impacts of storm water runoff.

“Everything that we have here is centered around our water, so you know, tourism is a significant economic driver for our region is dependent on whether or not our water quality is good,” said Tramble.

Residents have also noticed the issue.

“They have signs up…do not go into the water. It’s dirty,” said Warren Alessi, a resident in St. Petersburg.

Alessi has lived in the area for 16 years, and in his opinion, the water quality is changing.

“You can smell it. That’s another factor. We go kayaking out there and you can see it,” said Alessi.

Local environmentalists are urging people to help, by reducing the use of fertilizer on their lawns.

“Take a break from maintaining the lawn, take a break from throwing chemicals on the lawn,” said Tramble.

Experts said a way to reduce the use of fertilizer is to use Florida-friendly landscaping and plants that don’t require fertilizer.

“Change your outlook on what kind of landscaping you want because there is some natural stuff that looks great,” said Alessi.

Tramble hopes residents will further limit their fertilizer use.

“We are all here because of our water, not necessarily because of what our lawns look like,” said Tramble.

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