In October 2018, Brevard County commissioners gave final approval to strict septic tank rules designed to reduce the flow of harmful nitrogen and phosphorus into the Indian River Lagoon.
Commissioners banned the installation of new conventional septic tanks along the beachside, on Merritt Island, and in areas of the mainland close to the lagoon and its tributaries.
Under the new rules, in addition to all of Brevard’s beachside barrier island and Merritt Island, the mainland areas affected include locations within 200 feet of the Indian River Lagoon shoreline. An exception is in the Melbourne-Tillman Water Control District area of South Brevard, where the buffer would be within 130 feet of the lagoon shoreline.