Teams of scientists are keeping a close watch on the bay as they work to understand the impacts of so much polluted water flowing into the ecosystem.
Florida Department of Environmental Protection officials authorized the release of roughly 215 million gallons of wastewater from the Piney Point facility starting March 31 in an emergency response to a leak in a containment pond liner. That leak eventually became a breach, led to the evacuation of hundreds of Manatee County residents from their homes and businesses, local and state-level emergency declarations and the mobilization of a $200 million effort to close Piney Point once and for all.