Samantha, CUR- $3.6 million Park.

          First of all I would like to say kudos to the St. Johns River Water Management, Department of Environmental Protection Department of Transportation as well as Brevard County for funding and managing this project. As we all know the Indian River lagoon is a imperative and biodiverse estuary in Florida associating specifically with my hometown, New Smyrna Beach.  Although expansive in range(156 miles) and covering about 40% of the Atlantic Coast of Florida, the estuary has not fared well in the midst of the ever-increasing human population and associated activities that have been detrimentally effecting the environment.  As of 2015 citrus fields gave way to a park of ponds to capture fertilizer-laden runoff from Barefoot Bay and surrounding areas that one ended up in the Indian River Lagoon.

A map highlighting the features of the Wheeler Stormwater Project in Southern
Brevard County 

 The new Wheeler Stormwater will catch pollutants from a 21,000-acre watershed before they can reach the North prong of the St. Sebastian River which feeds into the IRL.  The project was completed in May 2015 and other opportunities such as walking trails and kiosks will be completed by the end of 2016 and open to the public in approximately one year.  The series of ponds will keep a yearly average of 16,753 pounds of Phosphorus and 27,223 pound of Nitrogen from entering the lagoon, according to the district. Each pound of those nutrients have a potential to grow 500 pounds of algae!

Work continues on the Wheeler Stormwater Park Project, a 300-acre facility designed to capture pollutants in stormwater such as nitrogen and phosphorus. Collected stormwater will be filtered through a series of interconnected ponds that will capture the majority of pollutants before the water is returned through the Sottile Canal to the St. Sebastian River. The four-year project is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year. (ERIC HASERT/TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS)

"The more of these we do the more of Phosphorus and Nitrogen we take out of the system, but don't expect the lagoon to bounce back overnight," said Duanna Defresse, director of the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program.


Garland, Ed.(2015 November 17).$3.6 Million Micco Project to cut pollution to Sr. Sebastian River, Indian River Lagoon nears completion. Retrieved from http://www.tcpalm.com/news/indian-river-lagoon/health/36-million-micco-project-to-cut-pollution-to-st-sebastian-river-indian-river-lagoon-nears-comple-230-351015481.html. 

HWRA.( 2016 February 18). SJRWMD, partners celebrate project aimed at cleaner Indian River Lagoon. Retrieved from http://www.tampabay.wateratlas.usf.edu/hrwa/newsletters/HRWA%20Newsletter%202-18-2016.pdf