Community Budget Issue Requests - Tracking Id #656FY0001 East Indian River County Master Stormwater Plan
Requester:		Caroline Ginn			Organization:		Indian River Board of County Commission
Project Title:		East Indian River County Master Stormwater Plan			Date Submitted:		2/7/01 2:36:17 PM
Sponsors:		Bill Posey
Statewide Interest:		Reduction in volume and loading will restore water quality and bio-diversity of estuary.
Recipient:		Indian River County			Contact:		Keith McCully
		1840 25th Street			Contact Phone:		(615) 678-0001 562
		Vero Beach 32960
Counties:		Indian River
Service Area:		Government Entity
Project Description:
The Indian River Lagoon ecosystem provides immeasurable economic benefits to Indian River County. In 1999 Indian River County initiated a conceptual plan to address the enormous amount of freshwater and stormwater runoff discharged into the Indian River Lagoon. The Indian River Farms Water Control District (IRFWCD), representing over 50,000 acres, discharges over 100,000,000 gallons of untreated water into the Lagoon each day. When rainfall occurs, this volume is increased tremendously by untreated stormwater runoff. This immense quantity of discharge and pollutants has detrimentally impacted over fifteen (15) miles of Indian River County's twenty-two (22) mile portion of the Lagoon and continues to degrade the Lagoon daily. In fact, this section of the Lagoon is the second most polluted segment of the entire Lagoon system. The first Phase of a Master Plan Study to reduce the pollution into the Lagoon, recharge the shallow aquifer, provide water for farmers and others, and ultimately, increase the overall economic health of the county, has begun. Phase 1 will target the areas of the Main and South Relief Canals, and Phase 2 will expand the system to the North Relief Canal and the major north/south lateral canals. An integrated stormwater treatment, storage, and recharge/reuse system will be created. Besides addressing discharge and recharge/reuse issues, the unique stormwater facilities will incorporate educational accommodations, wildlife habitat, and passive and active parks connected by greenways and bike paths along the canal rights-of-ways, providing tremendous multi-use opportunities for the public.
Measurable Outcome Anticipated:
The integrated stormwater treatment, storage, and recharge/reuse facilities will incorporate Best Management Practices (BMPs) and restoration techniques within the IRFWCD watershed. Degraded wetlands will be rehabilitated and new wetlands will be created. The system will utilize wetland plants in a unique way to treat polluted stormwater while providing a usable byproduct and excellent educational opportunities for the public. A valuable resource, stormwater and freshwater will be stored in aquifer recharge areas and will also be reused for public, private, and commercial operations. Huge amounts of sediments, metals, nutrients, pesticides, and other pollutants associated with large urban and agricultural areas are transported into the Lagoon each day by IRFWCD's canal system. (Note that freshwater in the form of groundwater runoff into the IRFWCD canals is also polluting the Lagoon, reducing its salinity.) This unique integrated pollution removal system will remove an estimated 70 percent of these pollutants on a yearly basis. The impact this will have on the Lagoon knows no confines. Who can place an economic value on a crystal clear Lagoon system that is currently a turbid, degraded dumping ground for millions of gallons of untreated stormwater and freshwater flows and the pollutant loadings they carry? Additionally, the project will help to implement future TMDL's applied to the central IRL system.
Amount requested from the State for this project this year:						$4,500,000
Total cost of the project:			$11,000,000
Request has been made to fund:				Construction
Type of funding match:		Local
	Total Cash Amount:		$500,000		Total In-Kind Amount:		$1,700,000
Was this project previously funded by the State?							Yes
	Fiscal Year:		2000		Amount:		$4,300,000
Is future-year funding likely to be requested?							No
Was this project included in an Agency's Budget Request?							Yes
	Agency:		Environmental Protection, Department Of
Was this project included in the Governor's Recommended Budget?							Yes
Is there a documented need for this project?							Yes
	Documentation:		IR Lagoon Characterization Report; Visual SWMM Modeling by Environmental Consulting & Technology
Was this project request heard before a publicly noticed meeting of a body of elected officials (municipal, county, or state)?							Yes
	Hearing Body:		Indian River County Commission; IR Legislative Delegation Meeting
	Meeting Date:		1/19/01