The old adage, “You don’t know what you got ‘til it’s gone” may be true in many contexts, but not in the context of marine conservation in Florida. We often know all about the marine ecosystems-- including the anthropogenic (human-caused) stressors and associated symptoms—by the time diverse forms of marine life are eliminated by human-induced pollution. Just such a situation may well occur again, in the context of a coral reef located off southern Palm Beach County, where nutrients from partially treated sewage are blamed for a proliferation of algae that is killing the reef.

The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) seems poised to renew a sewage discharge permit for Boynton/Delray Beach South Central Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant, which expired in December. It is not clear if the permit renewal is contingent on an official study. But suddenly, officials from the sewage treatment plant have agreed to test the surrounding waters for pollutants.

Divers and anglers, who have spent three years trying to stop the discharges, say that plant’s changed attitude about studying the problem is at best a pyrrhic victory for them. Dive community leaders also contend that the studies are redundant.

Ed Tichenor, the Director of Palm Beach County Reef Rescue, is a retired water-quality specialist with more than 30 years experience in water sampling and analysis. When state agencies were apparently unwilling to respond their repeated complaints, Tichenor and Reef Rescue divers, along with the Palm Beach county Environmental Resource Management department and the leading biochemists from the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, began testing the waters themselves. The team says they’ve found that the pattern of the blooms represents current patterns and the amount of sewage discharged.

Tichenor unearthed DEP records showing that 2532 pounds of Nitrogen were discharged per day from the Delray Ocean Outfall during December of 2003.

“According to directions on the Scott’s Turf Builder bag, this amount of fertilizer will treat an area 4 miles long and 3/4 of a mile wide for a two month period,” said Tichenor. “Come on, algae is a plant. Plants love nitrogen. Do you think there might be a connection?”

Studies conducted by the sewage plant will employ similar methods and materials as the independent studies conducted by PB Reef Rescue, county scientists, and the renowned experts from Harbor Branch. Tichenor and many divers and anglers are adamant, however, that the discharges must stop now and that the plant upgrade treatment levels immediately. “Must we watch this reef die while they confirm our data?” asks Tichenor. “Come on, we’re killing our core assets. Coral reefs are worth at least $197 million in direct expenditures in South Florida.”