Save Our Indian River Lagoon

Save Our Indian River Lagoon About

The Save Our Indian River Lagoon (SOIRL) program was created in 2016 by Brevard County voters to restore the Indian River estuary, after super algae blooms in 2011 turned the water green, and caused massive marine life kills through out the national estuary. Brevard's SOIRL program developed a plan to fund and implement local projects, recommended by researchers and scientists, that would improve the lagoon's water quality and restore the estuary's health.

Citizens Oversight Committee

The Brevard County Natural Resources Department's Save Our Indian River Lagoon Citizen's Oversight Committee (COC), chaired by a county commissioner, is composed of local business leaders and stakeholders. They receive consultation and support from the Florida Institute of Technology's Indian River Lagoon Research Institute (IRLRI), the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD), and local IRL advocacy groups. The committee holds monthly public meetings that are live streamed and archived for on-demand viewing.

The COC monitors the SOIRL program to:

• insure transparent implementation and funding of projects,
• modify project plans to reflect neccessary changes
• educate the public on the river's health problems,
• inform the public on the program's progress.

History

In order to make an organized effort to save the Indian River Lagoon, the Florida Sierra Club joined with some 30 other IRL advocacy groups to form the Brevard Indian River Lagoon Coalition in early 2016.

The Brevard Coalition's first Call to Action occurred on April 20, 2016 at Florida Institute of Technology's Gleason Auditorium in Melbourne, Florida, when 500 people gathered to learn about the river's health problems and what could be done to restore the estuary.

The Coalition, scientists, researchers, and financial experts worked with the county's Natural Resources Manangement Department to publish the "Save Our Lagoon Project Plan" on July 27, 2016. The original 10 year plan called for over $176 million for muck dredging, $10 million for stormwater projects, $50.7 million for septic system removals and sewer plant upgrades.

The "Save Our Lagoon Plan" was presented to the Brevard County Commission (BCC) Meeting on August 9, 2016. The Commission voted 5-0 to approve the ballot measure calling for a half cent sales tax to fund the lagoon's restoration.

On November 8, 2016, 62.3% of Brevard County voters approved a sales tax to fund the $302 million plan to restore the Indian River Lagoon Estuary.

Save Our Lagoon Project Plan

This is the Executive Summary from the original 2016 Save Our Lagoon Project Plan. Download the complete document: 2016-07-27 Save Our Lagoon Project Plan (PDF 91pp 3.1MB).

Executive Summary

The Indian River Lagoon (IRL) system includes Mosquito Lagoon, Banana River Lagoon, and Indian River. This is a unique and diverse system that connects Volusia, Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie, and Martin counties. The IRL is part of the National Estuary Program (NEP), one of 28 estuaries of National Significance, and has one of the greatest diversity of plants and animals in the nation. A large portion of the IRL system, 71% of its area and nearly half its length, is within Brevard County and provides County residents and visitors many opportunities and economic benefits.

However, the balance of this delicate ecosystem has been disturbed as development in the area has led to harmful impacts. Stormwater runoff from urban and agricultural areas, wastewater treatment facility (WWTF) discharges, septic systems, and excess fertilizer applications have led to harmful levels of nutrients and sediments entering the lagoon. These pollutants create cloudy conditions in the lagoon and feed algal blooms, both of which negatively affect the seagrass community that provides habitat for much of the lagoon’s marine life. In addition, these pollutants lead to muck accumulation, which releases (fluxes) nutrients and hydrogen sulfide, depletes oxygen, and creates a lagoon bottom that is not hospitable to seagrass, shellfish, or other marine life.

Efforts have been ongoing for decades to address these sources of pollution. Despite significant load reductions, in the last five years, signs of human impact to the IRL system have been magnified. In 2011, the “superbloom” occurred, an intense algal bloom in the Mosquito Lagoon, Banana River Lagoon, and North IRL, as well as a secondary, less intense bloom in the Central IRL. There have also been recurring brown tides; unusual mortalities of dolphins, manatees, and shorebirds; and large fish kills due to low dissolved oxygen from decomposing algae.

Local governments and the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) have been proactive in implementing projects over the last several decades. However, to restore the lagoon to health and prosperity, additional funds are needed to eliminate current excess loading and remove the legacy of previous excess loading. Therefore, the County is proposing to place a Save Our Lagoon referendum on the ballot in November 2016. This referendum would provide a funding stream for the types of projects listed in this plan for Brevard County and its municipalities.

This Save Our Lagoon Project Plan outlines local projects planned to meet water quality targets and improve the health, productivity, aesthetic appeal, and economic value of the lagoon. Implementation of these projects is contingent upon funding raised through the referendum. This referendum funding would also allow the County to leverage additional dollars in match funding from state and federal grant programs because the IRL ecosystem is valued not only in Florida but also nationally. Funding implementation of this plan would help to restore this national treasure. Lagoon ecosystem response may lag several years behind completion of nutrient reductions; however, major steps must begin now to advance progress on the long road to recovery.

In the development of this plan, Subject Matter Experts were consulted to provide feedback on the plan elements. The experts all agreed that there is a "critical mass" of nutrient reductions that must be achieved to see a beneficial result in the IRL. This critical level of nutrient reduction will be achieved through the implementation of the projects in this plan. During plan development, it was estimated that the benefit of restoring the lagoon has a present value of $6 billion and a cost of $300 million. Therefore, implementing this plan to restore the IRL is an excellent investment in the future of Brevard County’s community and economy with a benefit to cost ratio of 20:1.

In order to restore the lagoon’s balance, Brevard County seeks to accelerate implementation of a multi-pronged approach to:

• Reduce pollutant and nutrient inputs to the lagoon from fertilizer, reclaimed water from WWTFs, septic systems, and stormwater;
• Remove the accumulation of muck from the lagoon bottom;
• Restore water-filtering oysters and related lagoon ecosystem services; and monitor progress to
• Respond to changing conditions, technologies, and new information by amending the plan to substitute actions that will be most successful and costeffective for significantly improving the health, productivity, and natural resilience of the IRL.

The portfolio of projects in this plan were selected as the most cost-effective suite of options to achieve water quality and biological targets for the lagoon system. Investment has been distributed among a set of project types with complimentary benefits to reduce future risk of failure. Nearly two-thirds (2/3) of the effort and expense is directed toward muck removal to address decades of past excess nutrient loading. Approximately one-third (1/3) of the effort is split among multiple efforts to reduce incoming load to healthy levels, restore natural filtration, measure success, and respond with annual plan updates. The plan projects have been prioritized and ordered to deliver improvements to the lagoon in the most beneficial spatial and temporal sequence. The implementation of this plan is expected to result in a healthy IRL system.

A summary of the types of projects included in the plan, as well as the associated costs and nutrient reduction benefits are shown in Table ES-1. The timing of the projects is shown in Figure ES-1. Despite the considerable cost of restoration, analysis demonstrates that the economic cost of inaction is double the cost of action. Furthermore, although there are many tangible and intangible benefits for saving the lagoon, the readily estimated return on investment for three benefits – tourism, waterfront property values, and commercial fisheries – is 10% to 26% depending on how quickly the actions in this plan can be completed.

Save Our Lagoon Project Plan Table ES-1

Save Our Lagoon Project Plan Table ES-2

Web Links

• Sierra Club Florida Chapter
• Sierra Club Florida News - Referendum in Brevard
• Brevard Indian River Coalition

References