Q&A of the Day – Protecting Florida’s Waterways
Each day I feature a listener question sent by one of these methods.
Email: brianmudd@iheartmedia.com
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Today’s Entry: I would like to hear your opinion on the condition of the St Lucie River. I know emphasis is put on Okeechobee discharges but I when I was working for a local engineering firm, they were putting blame on local failing septic systems and localized discharges. Since then Martin County began multiple septic conversion projects. The last project went to bid but was stopped due to grant funding. Why would the County/State stop these conversions? Is there something else polluting the water?
Bottom Line: Great questions. The issues behind Florida’s waterway challenges began over a hundred years ago, are numerous and are attributed to different factors. Lake Okeechobee discharges remain a central focus because they’ve historically been the root of the biggest problems, impacting the most waterways (and subsequently marine life) and because Lake O’ discharges are federally controlled by the Army Corps of Engineers. It’s proven to be a constant battle to keep pressure on the Corps to not needlessly poison Florida’s eastern waterways with water from the lake. Florida’s other waterway issues are actionable at the state and local level and in recent years we have acted on them. I’ll break down where we were, what’s happened and where we are today.
I’ll start with an update on where we stand with Lake Okeechobee discharges as we’re now into the start of this year’s hurricane season. The last week that eastern discharges took place from Lake O’ was the week ended April 6th. The decision to halt eastern discharges followed public backlash from Florida’s impacted eastern communities led as usual by Congressman Brian Mast. Most recently the water level of Lake O’ is under 13 feet and is also below the historical averages for this date. Water continues to be released west and south into the Everglades (the natural flow – where it all should be going) from the lake. Specific to your question about septic systems and wastewater conversions...it has been and continues to be a problem across Florida.
I’ll walk you through a quick timeline with a series of events that lead us to where we are today. In the Spring of 2017 in my story From wastewater to drinking water our infrastructure is a hot mess I noted that according to the American Society of Civil Engineers Florida’s stormwater/wastewater system (and the country’s for that matter as well) was a problem. Florida’s Stormwater infrastructure grade was a “D” and Wastewater grade was a “C”. Stormwater infrastructure is key to runoff water than can lead to pollutants making their way into our waterways and wastewater infrastructure is key to insuring there’s proper disposal of waste through sewage treatment and disposal systems (septic tanks). Fast forward a couple of years to Governor DeSantis’ administration. Shortly after becoming governor, DeSantis established the Blue Green Algae Task Force – a collaboration of environmental experts from across the state who were and are (their most recent meeting took place yesterday) tasked with studying and making recommendations to protect Florida’s water supply and water resources with an overall mandate to improve Florida’s water quality. In September of 2019 the Task Force produced their first comprehensive agenda addressing Public Health and Stormwater Management. In that initial assessment following a series of studies they found the following: Excessive pollution is flowing into our waterways. Agricultural runoff along with pollution from septic tanks were cited as main catalysts. The Task Force also said that cyanobacteria, what’s behind algal blooms, have adapted with time and are more difficult to combat.
The task force’s recommendations, in addition to those of other experts have culminated in a series of reforms within the state to address the issues. The most recent being sweeping reforms pertaining to septic systems in Florida. During last year’s state legislative session, the state passed an Environmental Protection bill that Governor DeSantis signed into law that took effect July 1st of last year. The law included high profile edicts such as the establishment of the Indian River Lagoon Protection Program and $100 million in annual funding for land trust acquisitions through the Florida Forever Program, but it also included significant wastewater reforms.
Under Florida’s new law it is illegal to install new septic systems anywhere that public or private utilities for wastewater are available. For rural areas lacking wastewater utilities it’s mandated that septic systems have Enhanced Nutrient Reduction Onsite Sewage Treatment and Disposal Systems (which limit the nutrient impact of any septic runoff into waterways). Additionally, there are specific mandates for those within the Indian River Lagoon Protection Program area that phase in through July 1st of 2030. This has led to massive conversion projects commencing in cities like Sebastian and Vero Beach. Additionally, there are mandates for local governments to meet what are determined to be safe load levels of nutrients/containments in wastewater. That has a varied impact from community to community across the state. That takes us to your specific questions about Martin County’s projects.
Martin County began conversion projects well before the current state mandates were in place. In 2017 Martin announced a 20-year plan to eliminate septic systems in what is part of the county’s Connect to Protect Initiative. As is stated by the county:
Septic tanks allow nutrients and pathogens to contaminate waterways which can result in harmful algal blooms and can even seep into on-site water wells. Septic to sewer conversion will reduce contaminants such as nitrogen, phosphorous and fecal coliform, and help protect the health of the St. Lucie River, Indian River Lagoon and Estuary and offshore reefs.
The truth is most septic systems will fail eventually. Septic tanks with concrete or metal parts can degrade over time, allowing drain fields to become clogged with organic material. Pipes blocked by roots, soils saturated by high water tables, crushed distribution pipes, improper location or poor design or installation can all lead to major problems. The most common reason for early failure is inadequate maintenance by homeowners.
Martin County’s Connect to Protect program streamlines the connection process while giving residents the opportunity to reduce pollution and help protect our waterways. Residents benefit in other ways too, like not having to deal with septic system-related issues and maintenance costs, as well as having more flexibility in how their property is used.
The county keeps a map of conversion projects updated on their website. They’re operating under a 5-year plan that carries through 2026 currently. I can’t speak directly to the project you referenced (I’d need more info to look into it) but it’s certainly the case that both Martin County and the State of Florida are full steam ahead on septic conversions. On that note, last year Martin County received an $18 million grant from the Florida Environmental Protection Agency to aid in the conversion projects.