NATIONAL
ESTUARY
PROGRAM
STORMWATER TREATMENT
The Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program (IRLNEP) has ambitious goals to improve water and sediment quality and restore and rehabilitate dam-
aged coastal habitat. Excessive freshwater discharges into the central and southern lagoon due to diversion of floodwaters from the St. Johns River and
Lake Okeechobee and pollutant-laden stormwater into the lagoon have caused fish kills in some areas of the lagoon along with the loss and/or degradation
of thousands of acres of seagrass, salt marsh and mangrove wetlands.
THE NATIONAL ESTUARY PROGRAM IN ACTION
Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program
To reverse the damage and save
the lagoon, the IRLNEP, along
with numerous local, state and
Federal government agencies
including county mosquito con-
trol districts, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, St. Johns and
South Florida Water Manage-
ment Districts (SFWMD), Canav-
eral National Seashore National
Park Service and the National
Aeronautic, and Space Adminis-
tration (NASA), have joined forc-
es and funding efforts. As a re-
sult, more than 100 stormwater
reduction and treatment projects
now exist throughout the water-
shed. Stormwater retrofit proj-
ects and large stormwater
abatement and detention proj-
ects have been implemented or
are in the planning stages, in-
cluding a state-funded $10-$20
million project to redirect 100
miles of expanded watershed
back to the St. Johns River.
Signs of recovery are already
present with respect to coastal
wetland habitat, water clarity,
seagrass habitat, and fisheries.
The reconnection and rehabilita-
tion of more than 27,000 acres
of coastal wetlands and reduc-
tions in pollutant loads from con-
structed stormwater treatment
projects, coupled with substan-
tially less rainfall in the last de-
EFFECTIVE
EFFICIENT
ADAPTIVE
COLLABORATIVE
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cade, have helped reduce runoff.
This also helps lower inputs of
nitrogen, phosphorus, soils, and
turbidity.
The IRLNEP goal for wetland re-
habilitation is 34,943 acres. To
date, approximately 24,760
acres have been rehabilitated in
the north central portion of the
lagoon and 4,695 acres in the
south. The rehabilitation of near-
ly 30,000 acres, along with a
marked increase in seagrass
coverage across these estuary
segments and increased land-
ings of sea trout, pinfish and
mangrove snapper, indicates
that this ambitious and fast-act-
ing NEP is effecting change.
EPA's National Estuary Program
(NEP) is a unique and successful
coastal watershed-based program
established in 1987 under the
Clean Water Act Amendments.
The NEP involves the public and
collaborates with partners to pro-
tect, restore, and maintain the wa-
ter quality and ecological integrity
of 28 estuaries of national signifi-
cance located in 18 coastal states
and Puerto Rico.
For more information about the
NEP go to www.epa.gov/owow/
estuaries.
Visit www.sjrwmd.com/its
yourlagoon to learn more about
this and other IRLNEP efforts.
The NEP: Implementing the Clean Water Act in ways that are Effective, Efficient, Adaptive, and Collaborative.
EPA-842F09001
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