Tampa Bay Waterkeeper

Tampa Bay Waterkeeper Tampa Bay Waterkeeper is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and a member of the Waterkeeper Allianc
(1)

Show Up for Terra Ceia 🚨📢The Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Office of Park Planning and Office of Resili...
08/17/2026

Show Up for Terra Ceia 🚨📢

The Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Office of Park Planning and Office of Resilience and Coastal Protection will be hosting an open house/public meeting for interested persons to view the draft unit management plans for Terra Ceia Preserve State Park and Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve.

Numerous natural resource and conceptual land use maps will be available for review, as well as reference draft unit management plans. Additionally, DEP staff will be available to respond to any comments and/or questions.

The meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 26, 4:00 - 7:00 pm (EST) at Palma Sola Botanical Park in the Galleria Building, 9800 17th Avenue NW, Bradenton, FL 34209. We encourage anyone interested in the management of the state park and aquatic preserve to attend.

Here are the results from our 8/11/2026 routine enterococci survey inside Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay Waterkeeper routinely tes...
08/14/2026

Here are the results from our 8/11/2026 routine enterococci survey inside Tampa Bay.

Tampa Bay Waterkeeper routinely tests and reports the bacteria levels of your favorite waterways. The presence of enteric bacteria can be an indication of f***l pollution, which may come from stormwater runoff, pets and wildlife, and human sewage.

It was recorded that precipitation occurred at least 24 hours before testing.

Water Quality Categories:
Good = 0-35 enterococci per 100 milliliters of marine water
Moderate = 36-70 enterococci per 100 milliliters of marine water
Poor = 71 or greater enterococci per 100 milliliters of marine water

See link in bio for more infođź”—

Waterkeepers Florida Calls for Data Center MoratoriumsWaterkeepers Florida is urging local governments to take a proacti...
08/13/2026

Waterkeepers Florida Calls for Data Center Moratoriums

Waterkeepers Florida is urging local governments to take a proactive approach to proposed large-scale data center development and to carefully evaluate impacts to water, energy, wildlife, infrastructure, and surrounding communities. In a statement issued today, Waterkeepers Florida encourages local governments statewide to consider temporary moratoriums on new data center applications until comprehensive impact studies are completed and clear, enforceable protections are established through a transparent public process.

“It’s imperative that our state and local governments have the guardrails in place to fully protect people and the environment.
Our Floridian way of life depends on it.”
— Justin Tramble, Tampa Bay Waterkeeper

“We believe that communities deserve the opportunity to fully evaluate the potential impacts of data centers on water use, wastewater, energy demand, wetlands, wildlife habitat, resilience, and long-term community planning before development decisions are made. Thoughtful planning today will help communities avoid unintended consequences in the future while ensuring decisions reflect the values and needs of local residents. “
— Emily Floore, St. Marys Riverkeeper

Read the full position statement:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ReIruYNwrA_nusJdpeasw6Qor4ltqRgL/view


813 DAY IS HERE. Today marks the final day of 18 Days for the Bay—and we can’t think of a better day to ask our 813 comm...
08/13/2026

813 DAY IS HERE.

Today marks the final day of 18 Days for the Bay—and we can’t think of a better day to ask our 813 community to give back to the waters that connect us all.

For 18 days, we’ve shared the story of Tampa Bay: where we’ve been, how far we’ve come, the fights we’ve won, and the work still needed to protect our future.

But protecting Tampa Bay takes more than passion. It takes resources.

It takes funding to test our water every two weeks.

It takes educators in classrooms and on the water.

It takes legal expertise to hold polluters accountable.

It takes advocates in Tallahassee and on the ground when our waters are threatened.

Today, we’re asking you to invest in the bay you call home.

$30 helps fuel one 200-mile water quality testing loop.
$2,000 sponsors a water quality testing site for a year.

Every gift helps Tampa Bay Waterkeeper keep showing up for clean water.

If you’re proud to call the 813 home, today is your day to give back.

Give to Tampa Bay Waterkeeper today. Link in bio.

The 18 days may be ending, but the work doesn’t.

813 is home. Tampa Bay is ours to protect.

ONE DAY LEFT. Tomorrow, 18 Days For The Bay ends, and we’re asking you to give today.For 18 days, we’ve shown you what i...
08/12/2026

ONE DAY LEFT.

Tomorrow, 18 Days For The Bay ends, and we’re asking you to give today.

For 18 days, we’ve shown you what it takes to protect Tampa Bay: testing our water, educating our communities, investigating pollution, fighting for stronger protections, and standing up when our waters are threatened.

That work only happens because people like you fund it.

Your donation helps put us in the classrooms or on the water, samples in the lab, advocates in Tallahassee, and a voice in the courtroom when Tampa Bay needs one.

If you love this bay, give back to it today.

$30 helps fuel one 200-mile water quality testing loop.
$45 puts a kid on a kayak tour
$200 helps support water quality monitoring.
$2,000 sponsors a testing site for a year.

Every gift helps us keep showing up.

Don’t wait. Donate today through the link in our bio.

The campaign ends tomorrow. The work to protect Tampa Bay can’t.

Help us fight for clean water in Tampa Bay

08/11/2026

When the Bay Is Threatened, We Show Up.

This year, Tampa Bay Waterkeeper found out about a proposal that could have brought a cruise port to Terra Ceia and the surrounding waters. We knew we had to act—and we activated our network to make sure our community was heard.

We traveled to Tallahassee. We met with elected officials. We worked closely with Senator Boyd’s office on stronger language to protect Terra Ceia. We put up billboards, gathered thousands of signatures, and used our platform to reach hundreds of thousands of people.

We made one thing clear: Terra Ceia is worth protecting.
That advocacy helped bring the fight all the way home, where the Governor ultimately signed legislation intended to stop the proposed cruise port.

But our work isn’t finished.

We’re continuing to work with elected officials to strengthen protections for Terra Ceia and the surrounding areas—and that work takes resources.

Traveling to Tallahassee, legal expertise, maintaining our Waterkeeper boat to build relationships with decision-makers, billboards, public outreach, and future campaigns all cost money.

When you support Tampa Bay Waterkeeper, you’re helping us show up when it matters most.

Because protecting Tampa Bay means being willing to stand up, speak out, and take the fight wherever it needs to go.

Help us keep showing up for Tampa Bay. Donate through the link in our bio.

08/09/2026

The Next Generation of Waterkeepers 🌊

🚣‍♂️ $45 puts one kid out on the water.
đź“š $30 puts Tampa Bay Waterkeeper into a classroom.

With just days left in 18 Days for the Bay, help us give the next generation the knowledge and connection they need to become waterkeepers themselves.

In 2025, we educated more than 800 kids about water quality in Tampa Bay.

This year, we’ve already reached more than 1,000 kids—teaching them why clean water matters both in the classroom and out on the water.

For some, it was their first time learning about their watershed. For others, it was their first time in a kayak.

But for all of them, it was an opportunity to build a connection with the place they call home.

These kids are the next generation of people who will fish these waters, paddle these shorelines, explore these ecosystems, and hopefully, fight to protect them.

The more we connect young people to Tampa Bay, the more people we give a reason to love it. And what we love, we protect.

Donate through the link in our bio.

The Map Tells a Bigger Story. 💧Sponsor a site and donate through the Link in bio.TBWK’s Water Quality Monitoring Program...
08/08/2026

The Map Tells a Bigger Story. đź’§

Sponsor a site and donate through the Link in bio.

TBWK’s Water Quality Monitoring Program exists for one reason: transparency.

But if you look closely, the data tells us something bigger.

When runoff and sewage meet our waterways, bacteria can increase—and that pollution doesn’t simply disappear. It can move through our rivers, estuaries, and even into the ground.

That’s why Tampa Bay Waterkeeper is working with USF and the Tampa Bay Estuary Program on microbial source tracking (MST) research. By identifying where f***l indicator bacteria are coming from, we can better communicate what’s happening in our waterways and help our community understand how to protect them.

Because this isn’t just about Tampa Bay.

It’s about your rivers.
It’s about your drinking water.
It’s about the water that connects us all.

This is your bay. Your rivers. Your water supply.

And it stays cleaner because this community refuses to give up on it.

Want to help?

đź’§ Sign up for our email list.
🔬 Volunteer for water quality testing projects.

With just days left in 18 Days for the Bay, make a donation and stand with the people who keep watching, testing, advocating, and fighting for clean water.

The story of Tampa Bay is still being written. Help us write the next chapter.

Know Before You Go. 💧Clean water starts with knowing what’s in it.Every two weeks, Tampa Bay Waterkeeper sends one car o...
08/07/2026

Know Before You Go. đź’§

Clean water starts with knowing what’s in it.

Every two weeks, Tampa Bay Waterkeeper sends one car on a 200-mile loop around the watershed, collecting water samples from 13 sites to test for f***l indicator bacteria.

đź’§ $2,000 sponsors a water quality testing site for an entire year.
đźš— $30 covers the gas for one complete 200-mile sampling loop

We’re testing the waterways people actually use and making that information easier to access through transparent reporting and social media graphics.

Our data is also uploaded to the Tampa Bay Water Atlas Recreational Water Quality Map, alongside data from municipalities across the Tampa Bay region, so our community has more information when making decisions about getting in the water.

And people are paying attention.

In 2025, our water quality data was checked more than 278,000 times.

That means hundreds of thousands of opportunities for someone to make an informed decision about the water they love.
You can help keep this program moving:

Your support helps us keep testing, keep sharing, and keep Tampa Bay informed.

Know your water. Protect your water.

Donate through the link in our bio.

08/06/2026

There’s No Better Classroom Than Tampa Bay. 🌊🛶

A $45 donation puts one kid out on the water. Donate today!

Some lessons can’t be taught from behind a desk.

Through Tampa Bay Waterkeeper’s educational kayak tours, participants experience the bay from a whole new perspective—paddling through mangrove forests, exploring local estuaries, and discovering the wildlife and habitats that make our watershed so unique.

Along the way, we share the story of Tampa Bay:
🌿 How our estuary has changed over time.
đź’§ Why clean water is essential for people and wildlife.
🦀 The role mangroves, seagrasses, and oyster reefs play in a healthy ecosystem.
🤝 How every member of our community can help protect the waters we all depend on.

When people experience the bay firsthand, they don’t just learn about it—they build a lasting connection to it.

That’s what our kayak tours are all about: creating future advocates for clean water, one paddle stroke at a time.
Whether you’re a lifelong resident or seeing these waters up close for the first time, every tour is an opportunity to learn, explore, and become part of Tampa Bay’s story.

Join us on the water and help us continue inspiring the next generation of water stewards. Support 18 Days for the Bay through the link in our bio.

Address

260 1st Avenue South, Box 226
Saint Petersburg, FL
33701

Telephone

+18135639882

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Tampa Bay Waterkeeper posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Tampa Bay Waterkeeper:

Shortcuts

Share

Category