Poultry Production Facility
Under Construction in Indian River County
Most of us have heard stories about Concentrated Agricultural Feeding Operations (CAFOs). The stories typically include details about the unhealthy condition of the animals due to extreme numbers in small spaces, filth, disease, and massive quantities of feces. The waste contains nitrogen, phosphorus, antibiotics, and hormones in large quantities — deadly if allowed to enter downstream waterways.
Well, we have a new neighbor in Indian River County — Morning Star Fields. You may have noticed construction on the south side of SR 60, between Padgett Branch Creek and the Ft. Drum Marsh — both feeding into Blue Cypress Lake. Each of the metal buildings (photo below) is a two-story hen house for egg production.
Wait! How can that be permitted in an area where the County Commission worked hard to pass regulations to stop the spread of biosolids due to toxic algae blooms in Blue Cypress Lake? Who is paying attention — St. John’s River Water Management District? Indian River County? Florida Department of Environmental Protection? U.S. Environmental Protection Agency?
Sadly, Morning Star Fields has been built in a floodplain without any permits or monitoring.
We are grateful to a local realtor, Colleen Jennings, for alerting the Clean Water Coalition about the project and the neighbors’ concerns. Since that time, we have been in contact with the County Planning Department, the IRC Commissioners, St. John’s Water Management District, and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Many questions remain, such as:
What is the number or threshold of egg-laying chickens that triggers the need for a permit?
When will Morning Star be required to submit for approval the Nutrient Management and Best Management Practices plans to obtain a permit for the operation of a CAFO?
Our local Soil and Water Conservation District is actively tracking the project. We are also grateful to the St. John’s Riverkeeper for becoming involved to protect Blue Cypress Lake, the headwaters of the St. John’s River.
Stay tuned as we learn more about this project and work to ensure that it is built in a way that preserves our precious waters.
Florida’s Waterbodies Struggle:
Over One-Third Impaired, Restoration Efforts Lag
By Mike Sole
Have you ever wondered how healthy Indian River County’s lakes, streams, and estuaries are? Earlier this year, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection issued its biennial report entitled “Integrated Water Quality Assessment of Florida.” The report is basically a report card on the condition of Florida’s surface water and groundwater quality and is required to be sent to the EPA under the federal Clean Water Act. Unfortunately, this year’s report merely confirms the water quality degradation that many of us are seeing in our streams, lakes, and estuaries locally. The trend analysis indicates the main impacts on a statewide basis to Florida’s groundwater and surface water are from nutrients and fecal indicator bacteria.
Statewide, over four thousand water body segments were reviewed, and less than one-third met their designated use (water quality standards). One third still have insufficient data to determine if water quality supports the designated use, and over one-third of the waterbodies did not meet water quality standards to attain the designated use and are categorized as “impaired.”
So, now that we know that over one-third of the waterbodies in Florida are impaired, the next step is trying to figure out “how much” of a pollutant a waterbody can take before causing harm, and how much pollution reduction is needed to achieve a healthy waterbody. The DEP accomplishes this by developing a “Total Maximum Daily Load” (TMDL), which is a scientific determination of the maximum amount of a given pollutant that a surface water can absorb and still meet the water quality standards that protect human health and aquatic life. Basically, how much pollution needs to be removed to create a healthy waterbody. This is a complicated and scientifically rigorous process. Unfortunately, only 165 of the over 1,500 impaired waterbodies have an adopted TMDL.
Finally, if a TMDL has been adopted and we know how much pollution reduction is needed, the next phase is to figure out what actions are needed to achieve a healthy waterbody. Working with local governments and stakeholders, the DEP develops a Basin Management Action Plan (BMAP) to promote projects and management strategies to restore water quality. To date, only 33 BMAPs have been adopted by DEP across the state.
So how do you grade a 25-year program that has only completed restoration plans on a mere two percent of the impaired waterbodies? Luckily, I’m not a teacher and am unqualified to hand out grades.
Here at home, we too have our challenges. Indian River County has two lakes impaired. Lake Kenansville is impaired for nutrients and dissolved oxygen, and Blue Cypress Lake is impaired for nutrients and mercury (in fish tissue). Neither has a TMDL developed for nutrients.
Indian River County streams similarly show impairment. The South Prong of the St. Sebastian River is impaired for nutrients, mercury, and iron, and a TMDL has been adopted. Unfortunately, we are still waiting on the development of a BMAP to implement restoration projects. The North Canal and Main Canal are impaired for fecal coliform and iron, and the South Canal is impaired for iron. Because these canals are man-made, they are not subject to a numeric nutrient criterion. No TMDL has been developed for these canals.
Finally, the Indian River is impaired by nutrients, mercury, copper, iron, and fecal coliform. A TMDL and BMAP have been adopted. Indian River County has been implementing nutrient load reduction requirements and has projects in place to meet their 5-year goal (2025) of a 35% nutrient load reduction. However, there is much work to do to achieve the 70% reduction goal by 2030 and 100% by 2035.
The lakes, streams, and estuary in Indian River County are a significant part of our daily lives. They bring economic prosperity, recreational value, and health benefits to our residents and visitors. We need to invest more time, money, and effort to ensure their health.
Septic Solutions for the Indian River Lagoon
Ever wonder how much septic systems impact the Indian River Lagoon? Conventional septic systems are designed to protect human health, not designed to stop nutrient pollution. Here’s how they work: wastewater enters a septic tank, where solids sink and fats rise. The liquid in between is sent to a drain field, where it seeps into the soil. If the drain field elevation is high enough above the groundwater, microbes that live in the soil above the water table will help kill harmful pathogens—but that’s where the protection ends.
While conventional septic systems remove some nitrogen pollution, up to 90% can still reach groundwater and flow directly into the lagoon, feeding harmful algae blooms. Even worse, older, low elevation systems, poorly maintained systems or failing systems, can leak even more pollution. With approximately 27,000 septic systems in Indian River County, the nitrogen pollution is significant.
The CWC is offering financial assistance to homeowners for septic connection, who qualify within the City of Vero Beach. To learn more, call the Economics Opportunity Council at 772-562-4177.
This project is funded through the generosity of our donors, the IR Land Trust, the IR Community Foundation and a matching grant from the IRL National Estuary Program.
New Program for Residents in Need of Septic-to-Sewer Assistance
CWC is excited to announce a new connection made between the Solar Energy Loan Fund (SELF) Program and the Economic Opportunities Council’s (EOC) staff. This connection opens up additional opportunities for residents who may not meet CWC's septic-to-sewer (S2S) qualifications. The SELF program can provide alternative financial assistance to help those in need with their septic-to-sewer conversions, ensuring more residents can access cleaner, healthier water solutions.
Stay tuned for more updates on how this partnership will benefit the community!
CWC Strategic Planning:
Working on Our Goals and Looking to the Future
At Clean Water Coalition (CWC), we’re actively working on our goals to create a healthier environment in our waterways. Our Board recently held a retreat, led by Audubon Executive director and CWC Board member Donna Halleran, to review our current activities and look forward 3-5 years at the challenges and opportunities ahead. Like many non-profits we see the need to:
Strengthen and diversify our Board (age, demographic and skill set)
Continue to raise $30,000/year to “keep the doors open”
Focus on key areas, such as:
Projects which directly impact lagoon health, such as our grant funded program to help folks in the City of Vero Beach transition from Septic tanks to City sewer, Derelict Vessel removal throughout Indian River County, funding the City’s Stormwater Utility and many more.
Advocacy and outreach in the Municipalities and County for pro-lagoon legislation and action.
To achieve these goals we aim to strengthen partnerships, improve our advocacy, and involve more voices from diverse backgrounds. But we can’t do it alone, we need your help..
Whether it’s through volunteering, attending events, or simply spreading the word about our mission, your involvement is crucial. Together, we can work toward cleaner water, stronger communities, and a brighter future.
Stay tuned for more updates as we continue this important journey. We look forward to having you by our side!
If you are interested in supporting the work we do, please consider clicking here to donate to us.
Five candidates are running for Vero Beach City Council in the upcoming election. Each candidate has shared their views on critical issues concerning the city's future, following a series of questions sent by the Indian River Neighborhood Association (IRNA) and Clean Water Coalition (CWC). These questions touched on topics such as development, housing, water quality, and city governance.
Here are the candidates, listed in alphabetical order:
Each candidate responded to the questions covering areas like the Three Corners development, affordable housing, water quality in the lagoon, and how Vero Beach can prepare for future climate challenges. The IRNA and CWC provided the platform for this important conversation, highlighting the importance of these issues for voters as they head to the polls. The full responses offer insight into how these candidates plan to address key concerns in Vero Beach.We extend our sincere thanks to all the candidates for their time and thoughtful responses, and we wish them the best of luck in their campaigns.
Note: Typically, we survey the Sebastian City Council candidates, but this year, the candidates running are those who participated in the 2022 election. You can view their responses from two years ago here. Kelly Dixon, Ed Dodd, and Damien Gilliams, Jr. are running for Sebastian City Council this year.
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