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St. Johns River Water Management District

St. Johns River Water Management District. An Overview of the Indian River Lagoon Progress, Challenges and Opportunities. Troy Rice Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program Director. The Indian River Lagoon. 156 miles long 5 counties New Smyrna Beach to West Palm Beach

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St. Johns River Water Management District

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  1. St. Johns River Water Management District An Overview of the Indian River Lagoon Progress, Challenges and Opportunities • Troy Rice • Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program Director

  2. TheIndian River Lagoon • 156 miles long • 5 counties • New Smyrna Beach to West Palm Beach • Biologically diverse • More than 4,000 species of plants and animals • 3 water bodies • Indian River • Banana River • Mosquito Lagoon • Annual economic benefit • More than $3.7 billion

  3. Lagoon Ecology • Lagoon environment • Shallow (largely less than 6 feet deep) • Ideal seagrass environment • Seagrass provides nursery, habitat and food • Healthy seagrass, healthy lagoon Healthy turtle grass

  4. Dec. 24, 2010 Apr. 1, 2011 Apr. 6, 2011 May 1, 2011 May 20, 2011 May 31, 2011 Sept. 14, 2011 Jun. 22, 2011 Jul. 3, 2011 Oct. 3, 2011 Jan. 21, 2012 Oct. 23, 2011 Dec. 8, 2011 2011 Algal Superbloom and Secondary Bloom • Began in March 2011 in Banana River Lagoon. • Spread to the northern Indian River Lagoon and Mosquito Lagoon. • Unprecedented in magnitude and duration (8 months). • Peak cell counts of more than 2 billion cells per liter. Satellite imagery shows time lapsed progression of superbloom. Satellite imagery courtesy of NOAA.

  5. Brown Tide Blooms, 2012 and 2013 Daytona Beach News-Journal, 2012 K. Young, Volusia County

  6. Superbloom Causes? • No single factor, but: • Long-term drought resulted in increased salinity. • Extreme winters (2010 and 2011) produced more than two weeks of extreme low water temperatures. • Macro algae population crash in mid-2010, caused high nutrient release.

  7. Responding Agencies • St. Johns River Water Management District • Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program (IRLNEP) • Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) • Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC)

  8. St. Johns River Water Management District Strategic Plan • District core mission areas: • Water supply • Water quality • Natural systems • Flood protection • Strategic Initiatives addressing the lagoon: • Indian River Lagoon Protection • Upper St. Johns River Basin

  9. Indian River Lagoon Protection Initiative • Multi-year program to protect and restore the water quality and ecological habitat of the Indian River Lagoon. • Goals: • Understand the science to protect and restore the water quality and ecological habitat of the lagoon • Recommend solutions to improve the health of the lagoon • Improve communications to lagoon stakeholders

  10. IRL Protection Initiative Projects

  11. IRL Algal Blooms Investigation • District’s organizational structure • Lagoon scientific consortium • Bethune-Cookman University • FAU/Harbor Branch • Florida Tech • Nova Southeastern University • University of Florida • Smithsonian Institution • Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission • Seagrass Ecosystems Analysts • Blue team: • Physical factors • Water quality • Phytoplankton • Abundance • Orange team: • Phytoplankton species composition • Zooplankton grazers • Invertebrate grazers and fish • Green team: • Seagrass • Macroalgae • Epiphytes • Sand team: • Sediment biogeochemistry, including effects of infauna

  12. Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program • Sponsored by the St. Johns River Water Management District for inclusion in the National Estuary Program (NEP) in 1991 • Partially funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) • Nonregulatory program • Coordinates efforts among stakeholders to protect and restore the Indian River Lagoon

  13. Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program (cont.) More than $80 million in projects • 70 construction projects* • 25 planning projects • 20 environmental education projects Grants writing assistance • $200 million in capital improvements and preservation *20-year period

  14. DEP: Improving Water Quality Northern lagoon • Lagoon declared impaired • DEP determines total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) • DEP develops basin management action plans (BMAPs) • Goal to restore water quality • BMAPs set for three lagoon basins for 15-year periods Banana River Lagoon Central lagoon

  15. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Assesses Wildlife Health • Mortality events • Manatees • Bottlenose dolphins • Pelicans

  16. What We Can All Do • Understand the issues • Fertilizer • Pet waste • Storm drains • Use waterwise landscaping —floridaswater.com/waterwiselandscapes • Visit itsyourlagoon.com

  17. Thank You. Questions? Sign up for free updates at floridaswater.com/socialmedia and visit itsyourlagoon.com.

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