Improvement Needed In Our Local Basin

Article Posted on October 26, 2020

 

 
Note: It is our goal at One Martin to provide reliable, fact-based information so citizens can be better informed about our government and our community.

Improvement Needed in our Local Basin

This rainy season, Lake Okeechobee rose several feet and we are now facing water releases to our estuaries. Thankfully, the last time the US Army Corps of Engineers had to allow releases into the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers was in March of 2019.  While the reprieve was welcome, our flood control system is still designed with our rivers as the “relief valve” when the lake gets too high.  With that in mind, it is important to keep things in perspective and recognize that releases are not the only factor that negatively impacts the health of our rivers.

When it rains, water doesn’t just sit there on the ground.  It begins to move.  Some of it seeps into the ground, but most of it flows down gradient as surface runoff.  Within our local basin, runoff contributes nearly 70 percent of the annual flow of water into the St. Lucie River.  

Stormwater runoff from Martin and St. Lucie counties account for the bulk of our nutrient pollution in our rivers in the form of nitrogen and phosphorus that feeds algal blooms.

If this runoff is part of the natural water cycle, the real question is, what can we do about it? 

Fortunately, there are projects that will help.  In addition to the C 44 reservoir and stormwater treatment area, there are reservoirs and stormwater treatment areas planned for St. Lucie County along the C23 and C24 to cleanse and minimize flow to the North Fork of the St. Lucie River which joins the south fork of the St Lucie River under the Roosevelt Bridge.  These projects are part of the Indian River Lagoon-South Restoration Project which is part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, and need to be completed.

Additionally, the City of Port St. Lucie is working on a phased water quality and storage project known as McCarty Ranch along the C23 canal.  This project will keep nearly 9 billion gallons of water, nearly 90,000 lbs. of nitrogen, and over 18, 000 lbs. of phosphorous from reaching the North Fork annually.

Dispersed water management projects are another avenue to slow and clean the water in our own basin.  This public-private partnership model has really proven effective with projects such as the Caulkins Water Farm along the C44 canal.  Along the C23 Canal, Bluefield Water Farm is another project we can support. 

There are also a multitude of projects in the St. Lucie River Basin Management Action Plan which will reduce nutrient pollution in our waters.  These projects include muck removal operations, implementation of agricultural best management practices, improving stormwater retention, and septic-to-sewer conversions, among others.

Septic-to-sewer conversions are particularly important, as our local waters are frequently contaminated with fecal bacteria in areas we know are heavily reliant on septic systems.  On the North Fork of the St. Lucie River at River Park Marina, for example, the Florida Department of Health warned people not to touch the water fourteen times since January. In Martin County, the Stuart Sandbar was closed three times, and people were warned about high fecal bacteria at Leighton Park sixteen times!

It is tempting to blame all our woes on Lake Okeechobee.  However, even without any releases from Lake Okeechobee, it is clear we still have a lot of work to do right here in our own backyard.  Let’s work together and support continued funding and completion of these projects and other best practices that can improve the health of our estuaries for the benefit of all.
 
Nyla Pipes

Nyla Pipes is the Executive Director of One Florida Foundation, a grassroots advocacy organization working to improve Florida's waters. 
 
Note: It is our goal at One Martin to provide reliable, fact-based information so citizens can be better informed about our government and our community.

Improvement Needed in our Local Basin

This rainy season, Lake Okeechobee rose several feet and we are now facing water releases to our estuaries. Thankfully, the last time the US Army Corps of Engineers had to allow releases into the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers was in March of 2019.  While the reprieve was welcome, our flood control system is still designed with our rivers as the “relief valve” when the lake gets too high.  With that in mind, it is important to keep things in perspective and recognize that releases are not the only factor that negatively impacts the health of our rivers.

When it rains, water doesn’t just sit there on the ground.  It begins to move.  Some of it seeps into the ground, but most of it flows down gradient as surface runoff.  Within our local basin, runoff contributes nearly 70 percent of the annual flow of water into the St. Lucie River.  

Stormwater runoff from Martin and St. Lucie counties account for the bulk of our nutrient pollution in our rivers in the form of nitrogen and phosphorus that feeds algal blooms.

If this runoff is part of the natural water cycle, the real question is, what can we do about it? 

Fortunately, there are projects that will help.  In addition to the C 44 reservoir and stormwater treatment area, there are reservoirs and stormwater treatment areas planned for St. Lucie County along the C23 and C24 to cleanse and minimize flow to the North Fork of the St. Lucie River which joins the south fork of the St Lucie River under the Roosevelt Bridge.  These projects are part of the Indian River Lagoon-South Restoration Project which is part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, and need to be completed.

Additionally, the City of Port St. Lucie is working on a phased water quality and storage project known as McCarty Ranch along the C23 canal.  This project will keep nearly 9 billion gallons of water, nearly 90,000 lbs. of nitrogen, and over 18, 000 lbs. of phosphorous from reaching the North Fork annually.

Dispersed water management projects are another avenue to slow and clean the water in our own basin.  This public-private partnership model has really proven effective with projects such as the Caulkins Water Farm along the C44 canal.  Along the C23 Canal, Bluefield Water Farm is another project we can support. 

There are also a multitude of projects in the St. Lucie River Basin Management Action Plan which will reduce nutrient pollution in our waters.  These projects include muck removal operations, implementation of agricultural best management practices, improving stormwater retention, and septic-to-sewer conversions, among others.

Septic-to-sewer conversions are particularly important, as our local waters are frequently contaminated with fecal bacteria in areas we know are heavily reliant on septic systems.  On the North Fork of the St. Lucie River at River Park Marina, for example, the Florida Department of Health warned people not to touch the water fourteen times since January. In Martin County, the Stuart Sandbar was closed three times, and people were warned about high fecal bacteria at Leighton Park sixteen times!

It is tempting to blame all our woes on Lake Okeechobee.  However, even without any releases from Lake Okeechobee, it is clear we still have a lot of work to do right here in our own backyard.  Let’s work together and support continued funding and completion of these projects and other best practices that can improve the health of our estuaries for the benefit of all.
 
Nyla Pipes

Nyla Pipes is the Executive Director of One Florida Foundation, a grassroots advocacy organization working to improve Florida's waters. 

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