HUDSON, Fla. — Significant measures to prevent water pollution in Pasco County are being made.
The very first boom catchment device in the county was recently installed in Hudson. It’s through “Operation TRAP,” which stands for Trash Reduction for Aquatic Preserves.
The project is supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Debris program. With the litter boom, researchers will be able to collect data on the types of plastics being captured.
“The collecting of the data for the next four years is going to be critical,” said Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano. “We can figure out where it’s coming from, what’s causing it and how to prevent it, which leads to the long-term health of the Gulf of Mexico.”
This is just the first litter boom to be installed in Pasco County — other counties throughout the state have already started using the device.
A spokesperson with Pasco County said they are looking at installing a total of 40 such devices throughout the county.
It’s a project that is helping conserve the future of Tampa Bay area waterways.
Savanna Barry, a regional agent with Florida SeaGrant, and others are installing litter booms.
“Marine debris, basically trash that escapes out into our marine waterways is one of the biggest problems we face,” she said.
At a small creek in Hudson, the future of water pollution prevention is taking shape.
“We need to get more efficient in how we’re addressing this problem and that’s where these litter interception devices come in,” Barry said.”
“It’s a litter interception device that goes across slow moving creeks and water bodies and it traps trash, especially plastic trash, that’s floating on top of the water that would otherwise flow out into our natural waterways,” said Barry.
She said trash is a big issue currently plaguing local waterways. Research shows litter interception is needed for marine debris clean-up, Barry said.
“We were able to look at neighboring counties, such as Pinellas and Hillsborough County, and even Alachua County, that have experience with the water gate, which has been around for more than 12 years in Florida,” Barry said. “It’s just that these are the first ones that are coming to Pasco County.”
She said plenty of data will be gathered with the installation of these gates. Plastic items are expected to be the most common forms of litter captured, which is something Barry said everyone can help reduce.
“That’s really a part that people can play a role in their everyday lives — to reduce their use, reduce the use of these single-use plastic items,” she said. “Because time and time again we see that those are the number one items that we find in devices like this and on shoreline clean-ups.”
It may only just be the beginning of the project in Pasco, but the goal is to inspire others to get involved as well.
“If it works well here, then we hope to inspire other municipalities to adopt this and part of our project is going to deliver a municipality tool kit that will help other places learn from what we’ve learned,” Barry said.
Calvin Lewis
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