St. Pete residents concerned about animals trapped in stormwater outfall
Sep 30, 2026
People who walk in the Walter Fuller Park say they have been seeing something concerning: animals getting trapped in the stormwater outfall.Justin Dececco is one of the many people who enjoy walking in Walter Fuller Park, but ov
er the last couple weeks, hes had to take a detour."People were looking at this pitfall over here, and I looked over and there was a turtle in there and everybody left and I just couldnt let them stay in there," said Dececco.He said he's seen 12 turtles get stuck in a stormwater outfall and has been able to rescue 11. "Very frustrating, and not really sureI would take one out, do a couple laps around the park, and then, oh ill just check one more time before I leave, and sure enough there would be one in theresometimes two a day," he said.Charles Eberle is also worried about the animals."Yeah, I've seen alligators down there, I've seen snakes, lots of turtles they just seem to get through the little gap and get stuck down there... I feel sorry for them, you know, theyre just living their life and swimming around and trying to eat," said Eberle. Both Dececco and Tampa Bay 28's St. Pete and South Pinellas reporter, Casey Albritton, contacted the City of St. Pete.A spokesperson said stormwater staff is being sent to the site to evaluate the outfall and to see what the next steps are.Dececco hopes something is done to keep the animals safe."I definitely had to do something about it, nobody else was going to I couldnt let it go like that," said Dececco.
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