A construction project aimed at slowing the flow of fertilizer-laden fresh water into the Indian River Lagoon in Florida's Brevard County was given the go-ahead Jan. 11 by the government agency in charge of keeping the estuary healthy.
The St. Johns River Water Management District Governing Board voted to approve a $19.5 million contract — awarded to Tampa-based Cone & Graham Inc. — to begin work on the Crane Creek/M-1 Canal Flow Restoration project. While the district continues to negotiate some details of the project, work is expected to begin as early as March, according to a report in Florida Today.
The total cost of the building effort is $22.6 million, which includes the design and any necessary land acquisition. Funding partners include the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), which provided a $2 million grant; Brevard County, which chipped in $2.45 million through its Save Our Indian River Lagoon program; and $4.5 million in "alternative water supply funding" from federal sources through the DEP.
"There should not be any impact, construction-wise, to the residents," Ashley Evitt, a spokesperson with the district, told Florida Today, adding that flooding also will not be an issue.
Control structures called weirs, or small-scale dams, will be part of the project and are "engineered to have no impact to the existing flood control capability of the existing canal," Evitt said. "To accomplish this, the canal and weirs are designed in a way to allow stormwater to flow unimpeded during major storm events."
The project's approval comes as Brevard County is updating its annual Save Our Indian River Lagoon plan, which prioritizes some $50 million per year in revenue from a half-cent sales tax passed in 2016 for estuary cleanups.
M-1 Canal Upgrades to Improve Lagoon's Health
According to the St. Johns Water Management District, the M-1 Canal is a 100-year-old, manufactured flood control feature that cuts through the historic drainage divide between the St. Johns River and the Indian River Lagoon.
The canal diverts stormwater flow from 5,300 acres of drainage area in the towns of Melbourne, West Melbourne, Melbourne Village and portions of unincorporated Brevard County, before sending the water east to the Indian River Lagoon via Crane Creek.
When it was first excavated and built, the canal's purpose was to drain the land for farming and flood prevention. Along with the millions of gallons of water, though, came thousands of pounds of nutrients, including nitrogen and phosphorus — two key ingredients that in excess can fuel algae blooms, Florida Today noted.
The restoration project will substantially reduce nutrients flowing, or "loading," to the Indian River Lagoon, the district noted on its website. When the work begins, crews will be tasked with re-routing water in the canal westward for treatment in a constructed stormwater treatment area prior to discharging to the St. Johns River Basin.
A secondary benefit will restore seven million gallons of freshwater flow per day to the St. Johns River, which can then be used for alternative water supply downstream, according to Florida Today.
Besides the planned weirs within the M-1 Canal, east of Evans Road, behind the Melbourne Square Mall, other elements to be installed are stormwater pumping stations, 2-ft.-wide underground stormwater pipes, and a treatment area west of Interstate 95.
By improving the canal, the district estimates the yearly nutrient reductions to the lagoon at 24,000 lbs. of nitrogen and 3,100 lbs. of phosphorus.
"The ability to significantly reduce the nutrients entering the system is essential to restoring the health of [Indian River Lagoon]," St. Johns River Water Management District Executive Director Mike Register, said in a press release. "It is critical we continue to collaborate with our partners to identify, fund and implement these high priority projects."
Work on the Crane Creek/M-1 Canal Flow Restoration project is expected to be complete in January 2025
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