Sarasota County, FL
Home MenuWater Quality for Creeks & Bays
Surface Water
Our challenge is to protect water bodies from pollution-laden runoff. Any water that hits a surface goes into our bays, estuaries, canals and rivers. Runoff comes through direct runoff or a system of storm drains, off cars and roads and even your roof.
Most runoff water is a carrier of oils, solid and pet waste and harmful fertilizers.
Water Quality Level of Service
The Water Quality Level of Service was developed to create threshold targets for nitrogen, chlorophyll-a and dissolved oxygen for waterbodies that convey stormwater. High amounts of chlorophyll-a and nitrogen with low amounts of dissolved oxygen can lead to red tide, algal blooms and be harmful to aquatic vegetation and marine life.
Stormwater Environmental Utility's Water Quality Sampling Program
Creeks
The ambient water quality monitoring of creeks is one of the most important aspects of stormwater pollution evaluation and management. Stormwater transports pollutants across watersheds via creeks to the bays. Quantifying the concentration of pollutants provides an understanding of the conditions and trends of waterbodies over time and the identification of strategies that lead to water quality improvements. Sarasota County monitors water quality through the analysis of priority analytics: chlorophyll-a, nitrogen, phosphorus, and dissolved oxygen saturation in over 70 creek sites.
Bays
The ambient water quality monitoring of bays is critical to understanding bay health, the effectiveness of pollutant reduction measures, and the state of aquatic ecosystems. Healthy bays are intrinsically valuable and support marine life, fisheries, and ecotourism. Sarasota County takes a holistic approach to watershed management that encompasses the management of stormwater, wastewater, onsite septic systems, and reports of pollution; these are all factors that significantly influence the status and trends exhibited in bay water quality. Sarasota County's eight bays are divided into 40 subsegments that are sampled monthly.
The data and analysis for all bays and creeks sampled is available on the Sarasota County Water Atlas at the links below:
Water Quality Trends & Hotspots