Crisis in the Indian River Lagoon: Solutions for an Imperiled Ecosystem

There is an ecological crisis in Indian River agoon arge anes o aer ih high levels o nrien ollon ro ae eechoee and he cie asin are eing discharged o de leading o oxic algae loos in he agoon’s aers There have een neros yserios reors o deahs o Pelicans anaees and dolhins in he area Harl aceria have also een deeced in soe areas aing he aer dangeros or han conac A arallel sory is aing lace on Florida’s ohes coas Waer ro ae eechoee and he Caloosahachee asin are eing flshed Historic Flow Current Flow ino he Caloosahachee River and as ih he Indian River agoon he discharges are conring o algae loos in he Caloosahachee sary’s ecosyse In is naral sae aer in he norhern Kissiee asin eandered soh o ae eechoee floing ino verglades aonal Par and evenally Florida ay This aer had very lo levels o hoshors and nirogen eore han aleraon o he ecosyse he Kissiee alley old ae six o eigh onhs o release e season loads ino ae eechoee o his sae aer drainage aes lace ihin one onh aing he ae rise a an nnarally raid ace Ferlier and sor aer add hoshors and nirogen o he eechoee aershed The aer oves so icly ha i canno e narally cleansed eore floing donsrea The Indian River agoon and he Caloosahachee sary also receive local rnoff hich conrie high flos o nrien-laden aer ino he esaries ae eechoee’s o aer level or he ecosyse and or lic saey is eeen and ee Higher levels have droned o as ch as sare iles o lan conies daaging oraging reeding and nesng haias or iconic ildlie sch as he endangered verglade nail Kie In addion he -year old Herer Hoover Die srronding he ae canno olerae very high aer levels iho increasing he ris o a reach A reach o he levee old exose he neary ons o Pahoee oh ay and Cleison o dangeros flooding The Unied aes Ary Cors o ngineers is crrenly reairing he levee coleon is decades aay and i is “The estuaries’ troubles this year are ncerain ho high he aer ill e ale o e held once both a catastrophe in their own right reairs are colee and symptom of a larger problem — a problem that demands long term The danger ro high aer levels in he ae is he reason or solutions” - Jane Graham, Audubon he increased andaory releases o he coasal esaries The Florida Everglades Policy Associate solon is o clean aer and ee i in he ecosyse raher han discharging i o he coas @AudubonFL Page 1 fl.audubon.org August 2013 Crisis in the Indian River Lagoon: Solutions for an Imperiled Ecosystem Everglades Restoration Projects Central Everglades – This project will allow 217,000 acre feet (70 billion gallons) of water to flow south from Lake Okeechobee and will greatly reduce high flow events to the coastal estuaries. The project’s planning report is awaing outh lorida ater anagement istrict () approval. This approval is needed for the proet to e sied to onress for athoriaon 2. C-44 St. Lucie River Reservoir and STA – This project will limit discharges and polluon by storing and treang 50,600 acre-feet (16.5 billion gallons) of water from the t. Lucie and Lake Okeechobee watersheds. onstron of this proet that ean in 2012 st e aelerated, whih reqires inreased state and federal fndin 3. C-43 Caloosahatchee Reservoir – This project will reduce White Pelicans estuary harm, especially during droughts, by storing 170,000 acre/feet (55 billion gallons) of water from the Lake Okeechobee and aloosahatchee watersheds. onstrucon on this project cannot begin unl it is authoried by ongress. tron spport for athoriaon is needed fro lorida leaders Water Management 4. Dispersed Water Management – ul l u fl f - Lk Ok . Sl l y f -f . vwcuxc-cvw . 5. – -f f f f .5 f. uwwvucuw wKRvfl. 6. WF – . . uxuccwwwv. 7. SuFldWMDcud – T ’ q f x f . LuGvuwcvuvxu jcfiLOcw. 8. LkkcbWLl – f f O . T 2.5 5.5 f f flx f . T f . vcuuwcvcuucL vwu. Water Quality 9. - . . v v ff. W ater quality improvements can be achieved with aggressive new state rules that address treatment of urban stormwater, all sources of wastewater including sepc tans, the use of reclaimed water for landscape irrigaon, and the use of sewage sludge for ferlier gricultural pracces, including the use of ferliers, should meet a standard of no harm to water quality We recommend that the state update its rules to provide meaningful limits on the amount of phosphorus from ferlier and animal feed added to the watershed

@AudubonFL Page 2 fl.audubon.org August 2013