Jungle Lake restoration efforts continue

A St. Petersburg lake has received significant restoration after two wastewater spills. 

Jungle Lake, 7883 76th Avenue N. (in Walter Fuller Park), is a 10-acre body of water that runs off to Boca Ciega Bay. 

A 2015 spill in the nearby area caused raw sewage to enter the lake. Another spill occurred in 2018, when a contractor was hired to work on the Northwest Water Reclamation Facility and pushed sewage into the lake. 

This led to the overgrowth of water lettuce, Jungle Terrace Civic Association president Dr. Ed Carlson said. “It was wall to wall,” he explained. “We could not see one speck of water.” 

The surplus of water lettuce demonstrated that there was an unhealthy nutrient concentration in the lake, Carlson continued. This, as a result, can reduce the amount of oxygen in the body of water and harm the local ecosystem. 

The City of St. Petersburg tried to remove the lettuce. Necessary plants were also taken out in the process, he explained. Pesticides were also sprayed, and this led to a two-ton fish kill. 

For Carlson, restoring Jungle Lake is personal. “It’s basically a giant retention lake,” he said. “It serves 470 acres of runoff.” 

 As a result, it helps St. Pete residents with flooding. 

In 2023, the Jungle Terrace Civic Association, Stewards of Our Urban Lakes (SoUL), Keep Pinellas Beautiful and the City began working on the multi-year Jungle Lake Restoration Plan, which was developed by SoUL president and environmental scientist Jim Bays. The effort relies heavily on volunteer involvement. 

Florida House of Representatives member Linda Chaney also got involved. In 2025, she helped the project get a $1.425 million state grant. 

One of the first things volunteers did as part of the restoration plan was to try to remove the lettuce again and install 600 plants around the lake. However, their efforts did not have a substantial impact. 

“We planted them to try to restore the plant population of the lake,” Carlson said. “Only four of them survived.” 

After Carlson began to explore floating wetland islands, he recognized their potential. “They’re like hydroponic floating gardens, so the roots go down in the water and they’re 10 times as efficient as a plant planted in the bottom of the lake.” 

More so, the plants in the wetland island can better remove harmful extra nutrients such as nitrogen or phosphate in the lake. 

A 25-by-25-foot island with 540 plants, created by the company Beemats, was placed in the center of the body of water in December 2023. Approximately $8,000 was raised to install it. 

“Every four months, Beemats staff pull it out and remove the invasive plants,” Carlson explained. “They cut off all the tops of all the plants and replace the ones that need to be replaced and then put it back in the water, and then it regrows because young plants need more than mature plants.” 

As part of the state grant, four more floating wetlands will be purchased and installed, Carlson added. Additionally, the funds will pay for a contract with Beemats to harvest the products. 

The grant will also cover other aspects of the restoration project, including the installation of additional baffle boxes in the nearby area. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, these are concrete or fiberglass structures that collect pollutants, debris and trash from runoff before it enters a body of water. 

Carlson said that revitalizing Jungle Lake is an “ongoing effort.” 

To learn more about the project, visit the Jungle Terrace Civic Association website.