Environmental impact of ammonia leak uncertain

RIVERVIEW -- So far scientists have seen no signs of dead fish or other serious damage to the Alafia River, according to the Hillsborough County Environmental Protection Commission.

But the anhydrous ammonia released during a gas leak that started near the river last night could have a significant environmental impact, said Tony D’Aquila, the EPC’s director of environmental resources management.

Among the possibilities: dead fish, vegetation burn and increased algae growth. But right now, D’Aquila said, it’s too soon to tell. The area near the leak site is home to a mix of freshwater and saltwater species such as snook, jack crevalle, trout and drum.

EPC scientists sampled the water near the I-75 bridge and the mouth of the river this morning. But a Hillsborough Fire Rescue buffer surrounding the continuing leak has prevented scientists from taking samples near the U.S. 301 bridge, D’Aquila said.

“We will not be able to get up there until the Fire Department has released the site, and I don’t think that’s going to happen during daylight hours today,” he said.

Samples taken this morning will be tested in a water chemistry laboratory. It's unlikely that drinking water would be affected because Tampa Bay Water draws its supply several miles upstream from the leak site.

Once scientists learn the volume of ammonia released during the leak, D'Aquila said they will have a clearer sense of how much may have entered the water.

“It’s hard to say what the immediate impacts were, if any,” D’Aquila said. “If we’re lucky, the environment’s bounced back.”

- Catherine E. Shoichet, Times staff writer