Millions of gallons of untreated and partially treated wastewater entered Hillsborough Bay during Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and the City of Tampa is paying for it.

Tampa City Council approved a settlement with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) in March, and FDEP finalized the agreement in April. According to city records, the monetary penalty was $584,734, and Tampa opted to fund an in-kind generator project valued at $877,144.50 instead of paying the fine directly. The deal resolves violations documented between 2022 and 2025 at the Howard F. Curren Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant south of downtown Tampa, according to Bay News 9. During that period, treated water released into Hillsborough Bay failed to meet water-quality standards more than 80 times.

The violations matter to Apollo Beach and Ruskin residents because Hillsborough Bay feeds directly into the larger Tampa Bay system surrounding South Shore communities and supporting fishing, boating and wildlife.

State regulators found that nearly 13 million gallons of untreated wastewater were discharged into Hillsborough Bay during Hurricane Helene. Hurricane Milton resulted in another 2.9 million gallons of partially treated wastewater entering the bay. Roughly 250,000 additional gallons were released in incidents unrelated to the named storms, the Southshore Circle reported. The settlement also cited violations linked to Hurricane Debby.

Eric Weiss, wastewater director for the City of Tampa, described the storm damage. "Helene was unique with the storm surge. It actually flooded out seven of our low-lying pump stations, which led to a wastewater overflow," Weiss said. Milton knocked out roughly 100 pumping stations, causing overflows until portable generators arrived or power was restored.

The settlement also found that 11 discharges during Milton were not reported to the state on time. Weiss attributed the delayed reporting to a clerical error.

The in-kind project calls for two stationary generators at wastewater pump stations. The project must be valued at more than 1.5 times the penalty. Tampa Bay 28 reported the approved project is worth more than $877,000. Weiss said the generators are expected to be online within two to three years.

The generator project falls under Tampa's Progressive Infrastructure Planning to Ensure Sustainability (PIPES) program, a $2.9 billion initiative approved in 2019 to modernize aging water and wastewater infrastructure. The city says the broader program serves more than 733,000 residents. According to reporting on Weiss's statements, about 60% of Tampa's wastewater pipes are at least 60 years old.

The problems have not stopped. City officials reported eight additional incidents between March 8 and June 30, involving more than 500,000 gallons of reclaimed water and nearly 15,000 gallons of partially treated or untreated wastewater. Tampa said several incidents had no impact on nearby water bodies and that material was recovered or contained when possible. Causes ranged from grease blockages and damaged pipes to construction activity and operator error. Tampa accumulated another $32,000 in fines.

For the newer fines, Tampa elected to invest in a robotic water-quality monitoring system rather than pay cash. Tampa is also proposing new laboratory equipment at the Curren plant as part of another in-kind project under FDEP review.

Sarina Ergas, a wastewater expert and professor at the University of South Florida, told Bay News 9 that even though the discharge numbers look large, "they're often a small portion of the total amount of nutrients that enter the bay." She added that the regulations exist for a reason.

The Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County included a water-quality briefing on its Thursday, Aug. 27 agenda. No minutes from that meeting have been published.