Category:National Estuary

About the IRL National Estuary

The Indian River Lagoon National Estuary is a 156-mile long brackish lagoon estuary, that spans 40% of Florida's East Coast. The estuary's 3 main bodies of water are the Mosquito, Banana River and Indian River lagoons.^[1]

Despite the name, the Indian River lagoon is an estuary with no directional current flow. It's brackish water body is a confluence of 4 saltwater Atlantic Ocean inlets, 5 freshwater rivers and numerous feeder creeks. Within it's boundaries are an Air Force Base, a National Space Center, a National Seashore, two National Wildlife Refuges, and several wildlife sanctuaries. It's vast waters provide an outdoor recreational playground for boaters, fishers, birders, campers, hikers, bikers and day trippers alike.

It's temperate location and varied habitats make the Indian River Estuary one of the most bio-diverse habitats in North America. The estuary's mangrove shorelines, spoil islands, oyster bars, saltwater marshes, and seagrass flats provide habitat for terrestrial and aquatic species found in both fresh, and salt water ecosystems. The estuary is home to over 4000 plant and animal species, some threatened or endangered.

Impact

The Indian River Lagoon National Estuary spreads across Volusia, Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin, and Palm Beach counties with a rapidly growing population of 1.5 million residents. Waterfront residents enjoy a panoramic view, a parade of watercraft, unique wildlife sightings, and private boat docks with instant water access. Condominium dwellers enjoy well manicured landscaping, large paved parking lots and a convenient shopping plaza nearby.

Human impact from outdated sewer utilities, septic tank drain fields, stormwater run-off, yard fertilizer, and excessive wetland development has adversely affected the estuary's health. The result of this impact can be seen in recent green algae outbreaks, fueled by an excess of phosphorous and nitrogen, which created an oxygen loss in the water, that caused widespread fish kills across several Florida counties. This green algae outbreak rendered parts of the estuary unusable, killed many plants and animals, turned waterfront real estate into an undesirable neighborhood, created respiratory health problems for residents, and completely devastated the local ecotourism industry.

A healthy estuary is a vital economic factor in the community. It provides direct income for resident's who work both on and off the water. Commercial fishing, ecotourism, outdoor equipment retail, watercraft sales/service, and marina industries all directly depend on the estuary for income. The success of the above industries trickles income down to the local tourism, hospitality, transportation and real estate industries. A 2016 impact study estimated the total economic value of the Indian River Lagoon Estuary to be $7,640,311,564 per year.^[2]

Preservation

In 1990, the Indian River Lagoon was chosen as an Estuary of National Significance and assigned to the National Estuary Program (NEP) by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).^[3] Florida's St. Johns Water Management District (SJWMD) was the first local steward, and since 2015 the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program (IRLNEP) has been overseen by a special district of the State of Florida, the IRL Council.^[4]

Also in 2015, the citizens of Brevard County voted in a .5% sales tax increase to fund a program to restore and preserve the estuary. The Save Our Indian River Lagoon (SOIRL) trust has to date, 2019, received over $114 million in sales tax revenue. Directed by the Brevard County Natural Resources Department, overseen by the Citizen Oversight Committee (COC), counseled by the IRL Council, and guided by science from the Indian River Lagoon Research Institute (IRLRI) at Florida Institute of Technology (FIT), the SOIRL currently has several restoration projects underway.^[5]

SOIRL Restoration Projects:

• Research and Monitoring by IRLRI and SJWMD
• Muck dredging
• Septic tank to sewer system conversion
• Barrier island sewer utility overhaul
• Shoreline and oyster bar restoration
• Public information campaigns on fertilizer and stormwater impact