Hurricanes can bring more than just strong winds and heavy rain — they can also trigger a range of water quality problems. From untreated wastewater spilling out of treatment plants to microplastics being released from damaged infrastructure, the impacts on our waterways can be severe. Storm surge runoff can also carry harmful nutrients, fueling dangerous algal blooms. To help protect public health and the environment after Hurricanes Helene and Milton, the Rapid Response Team at the Center for Coastal Solutions (CCS), along with partners across southwest Florida, mobilized swiftly in October to assess potential threats to water quality. Their focus was on important concerns like microplastics, harmful chemicals known as PFAS, dangerous bacteria such as Vibrio species, and the risk of red tide, all of which can pose serious risks to human health and local ecosystems.
“By drawing on the unique insights of local communities alongside technical specialists, we increase our confidence that we are asking the right questions and developing targeted solutions,” said Abbey Tyrna, Ph.D., executive director at Suncoast Waterkeeper. “Our broad network is providing multiple lines of evidence to draw conclusions, which is essential when communicating with the public about the health of local waters.”
The multidisciplinary team blends local expertise with the resources and research capabilities of academic scientists to deliver a swift and effective response. The team includes experts from the UF Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Coastal and Heartland National Estuary Partnership (CHNEP), Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, Tampa Bay Estuary Program, Charlotte County, Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF), Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD), Suncoast Waterkeeper, Calusa Waterkeeper and Tampa Bay Waterkeeper.
“Our local partners directed us where to prioritize our sampling based on what was happening on the ground,” said Christine Angelini, Ph.D., CCS director. “Communication with local communities was invaluable in guiding our data collection.”
Researchers began sampling along the Manatee River on October 17 and have been monitoring water quality weekly for several weeks from Tampa to Charlotte County. Right after Hurricane Milton, they provided wastewater impact data to decision-makers within two days, helping document the risk of waterborne diseases in local communities. Preliminary results indicate that fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) levels were moderate, and that water quality is recovering faster than expected.
“While we prioritized delivering FIB data for immediate decision-making, we believe these back-to-back hurricanes had unique impacts on water quality that FIB alone cannot reveal,” said Chamteut Oh, Ph.D., assistant professor in the UF Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences. “Our ongoing analyses of pollutants will help us understand how hurricane-driven discharges may influence pathogen resistance, potentially impacting human health.”
Additional research at the University of Florida is complementing Oh’s work. Sungyoon Jung, Ph.D., assistant professor in the UF Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences (EES), and her lab are using analytical chemistry to measure microplastics in the water while EES Assistant Professor Elise Morrison, Ph.D. and her research group are using stable isotopes to trace the watershed sources, and IFAS Professor Ed Phlips, Ph.D., is monitoring phytoplankton. Together, these efforts provide a comprehensive approach to understanding water quality changes and the links between bacteria levels, watershed discharges and phytoplankton.
The researchers are analyzing their data in the lab and plan to release the results to the public in the next few weeks. This comprehensive dataset will be crucial for understanding the full range of storm-related impacts on coastal ecosystems and communities.
“Results from a large stretch of our coastline will allow us to compare and contrast what happened where, and how different areas responded to different combinations of pre-existing and then storm-related impacts,” said David Tomasko, Ph.D., executive director at Sarasota Bay Estuary Program.
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By Megan Sam