What is the City doing to help the Indian River Lagoon?

Excess nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) entering the Indian River Lagoon have attributed to a reduction in the amount of seagrass in the Lagoon. In an effort to reduce nutrients entering the Indian River Lagoon, the City of Titusville has completed and continues to develop stormwater improvements.

Along with some already completed projects, which can be viewed on the Indian River Lagoon Stormwater Projects page, over the past year the City has initiated and/or completed numerous stormwater treatment and outreach projects:

  • Draa Field Stormwater Park: construction began December 1, 2015.The treatment system consists of a 4 acre enhanced wet detention pond with littoral plantings, a permeable reactive barrier, and a constructed wetland. The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2016.
  • Senior Center Pond Floating Vegetated Islands: Managed Aquatic Systems or BeeMATS were installed at the Senior Center wet detention pond in December 2015. These mats help filter out nutrients from the water prior to the water discharging from the pond.
  • Littoral Zone Planting: this year the City received a grant award from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for Littoral Zone Vegetation Planting.This project will establish littoral zone vegetation within three existing stormwater wet detention ponds to help filter out nutrients before entering the pond. The project is expected to be complete by October 2016.
  • Baffle Boxes: this year the City received a grant award from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for Titusville’s Area II Stormwater Treatment Trains. The project consists of the installation of six stormwater inlet baskets fitted with a nutrient removal material (PAM) and two nutrient separating baffle boxes also fitted with PAM.
  • Public Education and Outreach: the City of Titusville continues its public outreach activities providing residents and businesses with information about pollution prevention, fertilizer application regulations, the benefits of Florida-friendly landscaping, and water conservation.
  • Living Shoreline: the City partnered with the University of Central Florida to develop a Living Shorelines Management Plan and construct a living shorelines demonstration site near Main Street in Titusville. This project is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2016.
  • On May 12, 2015 the City passed an ordinance enacting pet waste disposal requirements. The City continues to administer the Bag It! Trash It! Pet Waste Management Program with educational materials and maintenance of the existing dog waste stations.
  • In July 2015 the City enter into an interlocal agreement with the University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Services Brevard County Extension Service (UF/IFAS) to implement a Florida Yards and Neighborhoods/My Brevard Yard program in the City of Titusville.
  • Street Sweeping: between April 2015 and March 2016, approximately 1,982,320 pounds of debris were removed from street sweeping operations. This equates to the removal of 1,116 pounds of total nitrogen and 716 pounds of total phosphorus.
  • The City continues to apply for grant funding and develop projects that will help reduce the amount of nutrients that enter the Indian River Lagoon.

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1. What is the City doing to help the Indian River Lagoon?
2. How can you help the Indian River Lagoon?