Are Sewage Discharges a Major Source of Lagoon Pollution?
In 1995-Yes, But Today-NO! Before 1996, when the IRL System and Basin Act took effect, Brevard’s sewage treatment plants routinely released approximately 30 MILLION GALLONS of their effluent directly into the Lagoon EVERY DAY. Thankfully that ended in 1996.
Today, there are infrequent, and still UNWELCOME, discharges of sewage but combined they are less than 0.03% of the pre-1996 amount.
Doing More by Repairing Broken Pipes:
There are several causes of these much-reduced discharges. Some are due to pipes broken during construction, others are due to sewer line failures and blockages, often caused by grease and “flushable” wipes.
During heavy rains, ground water can seep into cracked sewer line overloading the capacity of the system and requiring emergency releases. Upgrades funded by the Save Our Indian River Lagoon (SOIRL) ½¢ sales tax have helped. There have been only two emergency releases since Hurricane Irma in 2017.
The SOIRL program together with County and city utilities are using smoke testing to locate and fix broken pipes. To date 773 miles of pipes have been tested and 1,366 of the 1,436 identified leaks have been fixed.
Healing Our Lagoon is a “Yes, and” effort that requires understanding and correcting the multiple sources of Lagoon pollution. Thankfully we have dramatically reducing pollution from sewage treatment facilities in the last six year but there still is more to do
What You Can Do Today:
Support the Brevard Indian River Lagoon Coalition by becoming a SPONSOR.
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