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Hugging the border between New Smyrna Beach and Edgewater, the Gabordy Canal captures a large quantity of stormwater runoff that eventually discharges into the Mosquito Lagoon. Included with that runoff are nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous that negatively impact the ecosystem in the lagoon by contributing to harmful algae blooms and reducing the amount of seagrass.

Gabordy Canal Stormwater Project

On Tuesday, the Volusia County Council gave the green light to a nearly $3 million stormwater treatment project for the Gabordy Canal that’s designed to improve water quality in the Mosquito Lagoon. The project has been in the planning and design stage for years, and Tuesday’s approval of the construction contract represented a major milestone. Recognizing the environmental importance and regional impact of the stormwater project, the state is partnering with the county and has dedicated a significant amount of money to help fund the construction costs. The St. Johns River Water Management District has committed $1.9 million, and on Tuesday, the County Council inked a $300,700 cost-share agreement with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The county’s remaining share, $742,216, is funded by the county’s stormwater utility fund. The Indian River Lagoon Council also provided a 50% cost share grant in the amount of $99,960 to help pay for the project’s design and permitting.

The Mosquito Lagoon watershed stretches approximately 36 miles from the southeastern coast of Volusia County to the northeastern coast of Brevard County. It’s the northern most part of the Indian River Lagoon estuary, which the state has declared an impaired water body. The Gabordy Canal project was identified in the Mosquito Lagoon Reasonable Assurance Plan (RAP), adopted in 2019, that was intended to serve as a roadmap for restoring water quality in the lagoon. The project, however, was already in the planning stages in anticipation of the completion of the Mosquito Lagoon RAP.

The project involves construction of a treatment facility that will divert stormwater from the canal into a 2-acre treatment facility that will remove detrimental nutrients prior to the water being discharged back into the canal and eventually into Mosquito Lagoon. The process will remove thousands of pounds of nitrogen and phosphorous, which are the primary cause of harmful algae blooms. The treatment facility will be co-located on a 6-acre parcel that the county acquired for a stormwater retention pond on the south side of 10th Street, just east of the FEC railroad tracks. The stormwater treatment facility will be built at the same time as the ongoing road widening of 10th Street between South Myrtle Avenue and South Dixie Freeway, or U.S. 1.

Volusia County Road and Bridge Director Ben Bartlett spoke to the importance of the project and the state’s financial commitment when the project came before the council earlier this year.

“It’s a lot of money,” Bartlett told the council. “The project is going to clean the water from the Gabordy, or 10th Street Canal, remove the nutrients, send it back on its way into the Mosquito Lagoon. It was really the project identified first in the Mosquito Lagoon Reasonable Assurance Plan.”

The St. Johns River Water Management District said it was pleased to help move the project forward towards fruition.

“We are proud to partner with Volusia County, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Indian River Lagoon Council on this long-awaited project,” said St. Johns River Water Management District Executive Director Dr. Ann Shortelle. “This stormwater treatment project is another step forward in tackling the critical water quality issues in the Mosquito Lagoon and to a larger extent, the entire Indian River Lagoon.”

The $2,954,700 contract was awarded to Carr & Collier, Inc. of Leesburg. The work is expected to take approximately 18 months to complete.