Hurricane Michael's fury will have longstanding environmental impacts

While the human toll of Hurricane Michael is still being tallied, the environmental impact from the monster storm is expected to ripple across the the Panhandle, experts are predicting, and the entire state might see fallout from the storm for years to come.

"I think the impact from Hurricane Michael is still unknown at this point," Kelly Richmond, a spokeswoman for Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said. "With storms, there can be animals that become displaced or stranded, and we also get reports of fish kills after a storm."

As of Friday, there were no reported dead fish in Florida's Panhandle region, according FWC's fish-kill database. There were, however, increased fish-kill reports from Pinellas County, Richmond said.

"Some reports are saying that they are newly-dead fish as opposed to decaying fish that got pushed onshore from the storm," she added. It's still to early to say whether Michael broke up the toxic red tide algae bloom that has slammed many areas throughout the state.

FWC staff rescued and released into Kings Bay a stranded manatee Thursday near Three Sisters Springs in Crystal River, Richmond said, and planned to rescue another hurricane-stranded sea cow Friday. 

But a big fish kill could be imminent. The hurricane hit hard on the back of another ecological nightmare: Coastal Florida residents from the Gulf to Stuart have endured one of the worst red tides in recent memory.

Before Michael, the toxic fish-killing algae had already peaked, and hopes are high that if there's a silver lining to Michael it's that the surge and wind and torrential rains might have broken up the blight. But it's also possible that the organism responsible for the outbreak could be recharged by the nutrients washing back into the Gulf, spreading its deadly impact over an even wider area.

Much depends on water temperature, currents, and the release of nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater, yard fertilizers and other sources during and after the storm, biologists say.

"This may very well break up what remains of that red tide," said Duane DeFreese, executive director of the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program. "The question is what happens in the aftermath." 

"Most of our coastal waters in Florida are suffering from nutrient impacts at various levels. We're all fighting the same fight," DeFreese added. 

Persistent north to northwestern currents in Southwest Florida before the storm and since have reversed to predominately southern currents, Richmond said via email Friday.

"There are indications that this will likely shift again in the next three to four days," she added. "We are doing our best to get back out and sample after the storm (although sampling in the Panhandle is likely to be delayed), and we suspect that due to these changing ocean circulation conditions, the bloom is likely to be moved around."

Sampling in the Keys since the storm has shown the presence of red tide there, Richmond said.

"Unfortunately, we still can’t say whether it will get better or worse and due to the reversals in circulation," she added. "We also can’t say for sure whether it will more or less stick in one general area or get transported elsewhere."

On Wednesday, a bill to authorize an additional $15 million over five years to identify and develop strategies to combat red tide was sent to President Donald Trump’s desk. The Water Resources and Development Act of 2018 was approved by the Senate Wednesday 99-1 after being approved by the House in September.

Thousands of gallons of sewage discharged 

As with Hurricane Irma last year, widespread sewage system and septic tank failures were expected during Michael, as floodwaters overtaxed lift stations and flooded septic tank drain fields.

Reports of tens of thousands of gallons of raw sewage spilled — some into local waters — trickled into the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Thursday and Friday.

Those could fuel more toxic algae.

"Every wastewater utility that is in the pathway of this storm is vulnerable to temporary failures, and potential damage to structure," DeFreese said. "It will override even really well maintained new structures, if it gets extreme enough. ... When the wastewater infrastructure fails, you are going to get both human health and environmental challenges."

After losing power at around 2:45 p.m. Wednesday, a pump station in Tallahassee overflowed, spilling an estimated 150,000 gallons of raw sewage onto land surface and into the nearby stormwater management system known as Lake Holley, according to DEP.

The state agency is making secondary contact with high-priority regulated facilities to conduct post-storm assessments, DEP Spokeswoman Dee Ann Miller said.

The U.S. Coast Guard in collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is conducting flyovers to assess coastal areas.  

EPA also is coordinating  closely with local, state, tribal, and federal agencies to help with emergency response, in case of hazardous waste or other pollution releases. 

The federal agency performed a preliminary assessment of all National Priorities List (NPL) contaminated sites in the projected cone of influence and plans follow-up assessments of those sites and other contaminated sites impacted by the storm.

"As soon as conditions are safe, the state’s beach assessments will begin," Miller said.

Beaches suffer severe erosion

Beaches that had recovered from the Deepwater Horizon oil blowout in 2010, are again a mess, this time with construction and other debris, and much less sand.

The U.S. Geological Survey expected the surge to erode the base of the dune on 75 percent of Florida's Gulf Coast beaches, washing out whatever nests remain in these latter stages of the sea turtle nesting season.

Overwash pushed sand across coastal habitats, depositing sand inland and causing significant changes to the landscape. Freshwater wetlands got swamped with ocean water.

The public can view a real-time map of these estimates on the USGS’ Coastal Change Hazards Portal. 

USGS for the first time deployed a new storm-tide sensor network along the Gulf Coast, installing more than 30 storm-tide sensors to provide information about the storm’s effects. The network consists of more than 130 pre-surveyed receiving brackets installed along the coast from Texas to the Florida Keys.

The sensors record the precise time the storm tide arrives, the changing water depths throughout the event, the height and frequency of storm-driven waves, and the time when the water recedes.

Inland waters swelled to new heights. One USGS gage in Econfina Creek, north of Panama City, jumped from under seven feet above sea level to almost 12 feet when Hurricane Michael hit the Panhandle.

Crops and fisheries devastated

Crops took a beating, too. Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam briefed Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue Thursday on the initial agricultural damage assessment. Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Gary W. Black joined Commissioner Putnam for the briefing.

“Florida’s agriculture industry suffered widespread devastation from Hurricane Michael," Putnam said. “At least three million acres of timber were impacted by the storm and numerous other commodities suffered severe damage ... (including) poultry, peanuts, dairy, cotton, tomatoes and aquaculture."

Michael put a damper on clam and oyster harvests in shellfish hot spots such as Cedar Key and Apalachicola. 

"That is a very important area for shell fisheries," DeFreese said.

"We won't know how this system responds until after. When you look at catastrophic storms, very often they can shift baselines in systems," DeFreese said. "Completely over-wash the wetland, upland transitions, and then it takes some time for systems to recover. The commercial fishing impacts on this could be extreme."

Contact Waymer at 321-242-3663

or jwaymer@floridatoday.com.

Twitter: @jwayenviro

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