In developing a framework for bay charaterization the Tampa Bay National Estuary Program identified a priority area, which involves the collation and synthesis of existing information on groundwater/surface water interactions in the Tampa Bay Watershed. The primary objective was to establish a rough estimate of the flux rates of nitrogen and phosporus between these two reservoirs based upon available data and compare them to rates determined for other sources. The purpose was to determine if groundwater may be considered a major mechanism for nutrient input to Tampa Bay, which is critical for management purposes.