Water quality: Indian River Lagoon, St. Lucie River are gorgeous, but seagrass is wiped out

Because recreating on the Indian River Lagoon is an "essential activity" under Gov. Ron DeSantis' safer-at-home order, you'll be able to see just how clear local waters have become.

What you won't be able to see: the seagrass that should be growing in the lagoon.

"The lagoon is looking beautiful; the water very pretty," said Indian Riverkeeper Mike Conner. "It's a shame the seagrass is toast."

More:What you can, can't do under safer-at-home order

The clear water is the result of a dry winter and early spring, said Leesa Souto, executive director of the Marine Resources Council in Palm Bay.

The lack of rain results in a lack or rainfall runoff draining pollutants, especially algae bloom-feeding nitrogen and phosphorus, into the lagoon.

That's not to say the lagoon water is crystal clear everywhere and all the time. Winds can stir up the sediment on the bottom, clouding the water.

Water gets 'B-plus'

The Florida Oceanographic Society gave water quality in the lagoon and St. Lucie River in Martin and southern St. Lucie counties a "B-plus" grade in a report issued Thursday.

Most areas received  "good" or "ideal" grades, although clarity was only "fair" at several sites, including the lagoon between Stuart and the St. Lucie County line.

In the northern lagoon, a remote-controlled water quality monitor called a Kilroy showed the water getting cloudier at Turnbull Creek in Brevard County, said Edie Widder,  founder and lead scientist at the Ocean Research & Conservation Association, which maintains the monitors.

"My best guess on that is that it’s wind driven – stirring up the bottom," Widder said.

Powerboats — if owners can find a boat ramp to launch at — also can cloud water when their propellers stir up sediment on the bottom. Boats with two-stroke engines release unburned gas and oil into the water.

More: Martin County boat ramps closed on weekends

Ed Killer column:Treasure Coast leaders, boaters can work together

'Like a moonscape'

The lagoon has lost about 80% of the seagrass it had just 10 years ago, by Conner's estimation.

"In some places, there's no seagrass at all," he said. "The bottom looks like a moonscape."

That's despite reports last fall that seagrass was starting to return, especially in the southern lagoon in Martin County, because there were no Lake Okeechobee discharges — and thus no blue-green algae blooms — in 2019.

More:Seagrass beds slowly starting to revive along Indian River Lagoon

"Personally, I never really saw the grass coming back," Conner said. "I think all the years we had discharges of black water from the lake took a toll."

Part of the reason for the seagrass loss over the winter is natural, said Paul Fafeita, a Vero Beach fishing guide and head of the Clean Water Coalition of Indian River County.

"The grass in the lagoon is like the grass in your yard," Fafeita said. "It dies back in the winter and comes back in the spring. Let's just hope it really comes back this spring."

With little seagrass for habitat, fish are scarce in the lagoon as well.

"The only bright spot is that I'm seeing lots of mullet," Conner said. "Otherwise, it's pretty bleak. People can go out, look at the water and say, 'It's beautiful; I can see all the way to the bottom.' The problem is, there's no grass on the bottom."

More: Track the coronavirus on the Treasure Coast, in Florida, across U.S.

Tyler Treadway is an environment reporter who specializes in issues facing the Indian River Lagoon. Support his work on TCPalm.com.  Contact him at 772-221-4219 and tyler.treadway@tcpalm.com.