Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program

http://floridaswater.com/itsyourlagoon/

Blend salty ocean water with freshwater from rivers and creeks and you get an estuary. The Indian River Lagoon — the most biologically diverse estuary in North America — straddles 156 miles of Florida’s east coast, from Ponce Inlet in Volusia County, south to Jupiter Inlet in Palm Beach County.

The St. Johns River Water Management District actively supports the effort to protect and restore this natural treasure by administering the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program, one of 28 national estuary programs funded with the assistance of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Unique waters

Designated as one of Florida’s Surface Water Improvement and Management Act priorities in 1987, the lagoon (a blend of fresh and salt water) is one of the most popular fishing destinations in Florida, with more than a million anglers visiting the region annually.

Strides have been made to protect the lagoon and the $3.7 billion benefit it has had on the economy (as measured in 2007), through:

  • Passage of the Surface Water Improvement and Management Act in 1987
  • Creation of the federally funded Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program in 1990
The problems

By the 1970s, 75 percent of lagoon salt marshes were lost. Dikes built to separate 40,400 acres from the lagoon to control mosquito breeding eliminated juvenile fish nursery grounds.

St. Johns River marshes and Lake Okeechobee discharges were drained into the lagoon. Excessive freshwater degrades shellfish habitat and carries soils and pollutants (primarily nitrogen and phosphorus) into the lagoon, fostering algal growth and killing sea grasses. Wastewater and stormwater discharges deposited freshwater and pollutants, further promoting algal growth and seagrass destruction.

The accomplishments

 

The District has worked with federal, state and local agencies to:

  • Eliminate effluent discharges to the lagoon from more than 20 wastewater facilities.
  • Reconnect more than 29,400 acres of impounded salt marshes.
  • Help develop stormwater treatment systems. More than a million pounds of sediments have been prevented from entering the lagoon since 1989.
  • Reduce freshwater discharges from the St. Johns River into the lagoon.
  • Sponsor the National Estuary Program in completing its plan developed in 1996 identifying how to protect and restore the lagoon.
  • Buy 52,600 acres of environmentally endangered land within the lagoon’s watershed for protection.
  • Identify muck deposits and devise a plan to remove them. More than 95,000 cubic yards of muck were removed from Melbourne’s Crane Creek in 1998, more than 380,000 cubic yards of muck were removed from Turkey Creek from 1999 to 2001, and about  2 million cubic yards were removed from the St. Sebastian River from 2006 to 2009.
The needs

To ensure long-term preservation of the lagoon, the District has identified a five-year, $80 million plan that calls for the District, with state, federal and local agencies working together, to:

  • Treat stormwater discharges from developed areas to reduce pollution.
  • Divert the flow of major stormwater drainage systems away from the lagoon.
  • Continue to remove muck from the lagoon and its tributaries.
  • Restore and protect natural habitat, including reconnecting an additional 7,000 acres of impounded salt marshes.
  • Monitor water quality, drainage and sea grasses, and identify any impacts of septic tanks.
  • Assist the Florida Department of Environmental Protection in developing Basin Management Action Plans in compliance with total maximum daily load requirements.
For more information

Contact Troy Rice, lagoon program director, at (321) 984-4938 or trice@sjrwmd.com.