Sludge Watch ==> Florida to Dump Sewage on more sections of coral reef

[Maureen Reilly]

Florida To Dump Sewage On More Sections Of Coral Reef System

May 2, 2007 8:23 p.m. EST


Matthew Borghese - AHN Staff Writer
Tallahassee, FL (AHN) - The Florida Department of Environmental Protection 
(FDEP) will open a new ocean discharge pipe near Lake Worth, in a move that 
has alarmed divers and environmentalists across the Sunshine State.

The wastewater will hit a coral reef ecosystem, introducing ammonia and 
other nutrient pollutants into a fragile environment which will most likely 
be destroyed as a result.

According to a group petitioning FDEP Water Facilities Administrator Linda 
A. Brien to stop the proposed pipeline, "nutrient pollutants fuel coral 
killing algae blooms."

The petition explains, "Dr. Brian Lapointe of Harbor Branch Oceanographic 
Institute in Ft. Pierce, Florida has established that as little as 14 parts 
per billion of ammonia can trigger a harmful algae bloom on a coral reef. In 
their ocean outfall permit application Lake Worth estimates the ammonia 
discharge could be as high as 10.8 parts per million, nearly 1,000 times 
greater than the amount of ammonia needed to fuel a coral reef algae bloom."

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7007226384