Indian River Lagoon report card: Seagrass still suffers from 2016 Lake O discharges

(TCPalm.com, Max Chesnes, Feb. 5, 2021)

The Marine Resources Council published this year’s Indian River Lagoon report card.  The report describes both water and habitat quality as compared to previous years.  The results showed that the seagrass habitat quality was “extremely poor”, and “attributed much of the problem to the Lake Okeechobee discharges in 2016”.  The article details the results of discrete measures used to determine whether the health of the lagoon is improving, not changing, or declining.  Specifically, the measurements of nitrogen and phosphorous, which contribute to algae growth, are available for various sections of the 156 mile long Lagoon.  Overall, both scores showed improvement from previous years.  There are links to the full report card, and local water quality readings.  Click here to read the entire article.