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‘Tampa Bay: Living Legacy’ Documentary On WUSF-TV Chronicles Bay’s Spoiling, Recovery From Pollution

“Tampa Bay: Living Legacy,” a one-hour documentary film about Florida’s largest open-water estuary, will be broadcast on WUSF-TV (Channel 16)  at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 23. The film also will air on WEDU-TV (Channel 3) in October.

The film chronicles Tampa Bay’s transformation from a relatively unspoiled paradise in the 1950s, to a waterway battered by pollution in the 1970s, to its amazing rebirth and recovery beginning some 25 years ago and continuing today.

“Tampa Bay: Living Legacy” features interviews with scientists, elected officials and citizens, including well-known Floridians such as former Governor Bob Martinez, the mayors of both Tampa and St. Petersburg and former State Education Commissioner Betty Castor. Compelling archival images help tell the bay’s story, along with extensive new footage showcasing the extraordinary beauty of the bay’s habitats and inhabitants.

The film also pays homage to early bay advocates such as Roger Stewart, former head of Hillsborough’s Environmental Protection Commission, who was fired by the county in the 1970s for his outspoken criticism of sewage dumping in the bay, and rehired after a CBS “60 Minutes” piece exposed the severe pollution of the bay. Subsequent state legislation co-sponsored by former Rep. Mary Figg (also featured in the film) required all governments discharging sewage to Tampa Bay to utilize advanced treatment methods — a crucial change that sparked the bay’s dramatic turnaround.

“Tampa Bay: Living Legacy” provides a living history of the bay’s evolution over time. Two-thirds of Bay Area residents did not live here 25 years ago when these early bay champions were working to save the bay. The producers hope the film will inspire today’s residents, and future generations, to sustain their legacy.

The film is narrated by Patrick Wilson, a Broadway and film star who has appeared in “Phantom of the Opera,” “Oklahoma” and “The Full Monty.”  Wilson grew up in St. Petersburg, where his father, John, is a longtime local news anchor.

Funding for “Tampa Bay: Living Legacy” was provided by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program and the Pinellas County Environmental Fund. The film was produced by Public Media Productions of Tampa.