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Sarasota Bay water quality is the best it’s been in 8 years. Can we keep it that way?

Sarasota Bay’s water quality is the best it’s been in eight years.

That’s what Executive Director of the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program Dave Tomasko said in his most recent director’s note.

But while it may be a good time to reflect on the positives, it’s not time to take a break.

We can’t let the water quality slip away again, Tomasko said.

He explained that in a recent meeting with colleagues at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, he was told that FDEP would be releasing their “Draft Impaired Waters List” and “Draft De-List List.”

The lists summarize bodies of water that are considered out of compliance with water quality standards, and conversely those that are improving so much that they can be taken off the list.

From the conversation, he learned that Sarasota Bay, Roberts Bay, Little Sarasota Bay and Blackburn Bay will all be delisted for nutrient pollution.

Simply put, the algae in Sarasota Bay has decreased so much that the water meets the standards to be considered “good quality.”