| Upon reaching the lagoon, these harmful sediments reduce water quality and starve sea grass of sunlight. |
Citrus has been grown along the Indian River Lagoon since the 1500s, and today, the lagoon region supports a $2.1 billion citrus industry. A multiagency program funded through the sales of Indian River Lagoon license plates is helping citrus growers minimize the negative impacts that runoff from the groves can have on water quality in the 156-mile-long estuary.
Citrus growers "want to be good neighbors," says Wayne Mozo, project administrator for the Indian River Lagoon Program, which is part of the National Estuary Program. "They live here and use the waterways like the rest of us. They want to do what's right."
To help them in this effort, the University of Florida's Indian River County Cooperative Extension Service and the Indian River Soil and Water Control District have initiated a cost-share program that helps growers replace or upgrade water control structures that manage the release of water entering the lagoon.
In citrus groves, water control structures known as screw gates are commonly used to manage water flow. Screw gates release excess water through the bottom, which easily transports sediment and nutrients downstream. Upon reaching the lagoon, these harmful sediments reduce water quality and starve sea grass of sunlight.
Under the Indian River County cost-share program, license plate money covers 75 percent of the cost of replacing screw gates with riser board structures, which allow sediments to settle out before draining water reaches the lagoon. Growers pay the remaining 25 percent of the cost for the upgrades.
The program is funded by a $50,000 grant from the Indian River Lagoon license plate program. These special license plates cost residents $15 more than regular state tags, and in the past 10 years, have raised more than $3.5 million for lagoon projects that improve water quality and habitat, says Troy Rice, director of the Indian River Lagoon Program.
Since 2002, Rice says, more than $100,000 in cost-share grant funding has allowed area citrus growers to put in 19 flashboard riser structures. In addition, a sediment pond has been constructed in one of the groves, which allows the grower to reuse water for irrigation purposes and reduces the amount of fertilizer that is needed.
To receive the grant money, growers must attend educational workshops on implementing best management practices. They also must submit an application to a review board, made up of staff members from the partnering agencies, explains Mozo. Growers' applications must include professional cost estimates for proposed improvements.
Although confident that the program will result in a "reduction overall of sediment loads," an ongoing monitoring program will help determine the program's impact on water quality, Rice says. "We hope to have initial results by this summer."
For more information on the Indian River County cost-share program, contact Troy Rice at (321) 984-4950 or trice@sjrwmd.com. You also may contact Wayne Mozo at (321) 984-4944 or wmozo@sjrwmd.com.
