Beach town installs drain grate to stop manatees

SATELLITE BEACH, Fla. — A day after a frantic rescue to save 19 manatees trapped in a storm drain, city workers in Satellite Beach re-installed a grate Tuesday to prevent a repeat performance.

The grate at the outflow of the drain into a pond near Satellite Beach City Hall had been clogged months ago and removed. That opening allowed the sea cows a path away from the pond and into trouble.

In an overnight operation that lasted until early Tuesday, Florida wildlife, SeaWorld and city officials rescued all 19 manatees, lifing them with slings, earth-movers and a fire department ladder truck.

"Completely successful," Brandon Basino, spokesman for the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg, said of Monday night's rescue.

"All of the manatees that were rescued were grease-marked," Basino said, adding that state biologists were searching for the sea cows Tuesday to verify that they're in good condition.

Rescuers safely released all 19 manatees back into the Indian River Lagoon. State biologists suspect the manatees had been seeking warm, fresh water for refuge. The lagoon water has recently dropped to temperatures known to be dangerously cold for sea cows.

Rescue operations ended at about 2:30 a.m. ET Tuesday along Cassia Boulevard near Surfside Elementary School and Satellite Beach City Hall. Firefighters, SeaWorld employees and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission left the site after inspecting the remaining culverts and drains.

FWC biologists had known the stranding situation had been developing for a few days.

"We were aware of them as of Saturday," Basino said of the stranded manatees. But FWC thought most would have been able to free themselves.

But when state biologists checked again Monday, more manatees had stranded in the pipe.

Cities typically use "jail-bar-like" guards to keep manatees out of storm drains.

"I'm not sure why they didn't," Basino said, adding that a temporary barrier on the outlet will keep manatees out of the pipe for now. "They'll obviously be assessing a permanent structure in the future."

State biologists recall four similar manatee strandings in the same Satellite Beach area in recent years, but with far fewer manatees.

On Feb. 9, SeaWorld and state wildlife officials rescued a mother manatee and her calf in Satellite Beach. The two were taken to Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo for treatment of cold stress.

Manatees can die when the water stays too cold for too long. The lagoon has already dipped to or below the threshold temperature that stresses the health of manatees and can kill them if it lasts long enough.

Late last week, water temperatures in the lagoon dipped to as low as 56 degrees Fahrenheit, according to data from the St. Johns River Water Management District.

Lagoon water temperatures remained at around 62 degrees on Tuesday.

Manatees can't tolerate water less than 68 degrees for a prolonged period of time. After a while, their skin breaks into white patches and lesions and their bodies begin to shut down.

So manatees huddle by the hundreds near the warm-water discharge areas of power plants.

Local boaters, who face slow-speed restrictions because of the manatees, have long advocated for weaning the sea cows off the warm water.

Power plant warm-water discharge has trained manatees to stay farther north during winter than they otherwise would.

But biologists warn it's too risky to eliminate those warm-water sanctuaries. Manatees would come back expecting the warm water, wait around, then die, they say. That happened in Fernandina Beach in 1996, when a paper mill that discharged warm water into the St. Marys River shut down. Several manatees waited at the mill that winter but died from cold stress when the warm water never came.

Endangered sea turtles also can grow lethargic and ill when water stays cold too long.

Monday night's rescue captured the attention of neighbors and the national spotlight as rescue crews pulled away drain covers and used construction equipment, fire engines and even a truck ladder to carry out the mass rescue of the manatees that somehow became trapped in the city's drainage system.

At least six manatees were pulled out of the drainage pipes by 9:30 p.m. Monday with rescuers digging and removing material to get farther into the system. One of the manatees — believed to be a male — was spotted about 120 yards from the site where most of the rescues were taking place, according to Satellite Beach Fire Chief Don Hughes.

Katie Tripp, director of science and conservation for the non-profit Save the Manatee Club, praised the rescue.

"It's wonderful that so many concerned individuals came together to work late into the night to help these manatees," Tripp said. "A temporary barrier has been put in place and the initial conversations this morning suggest that the appropriate entities are working on quickly implementing a more permanent solution."