Lagoon water quality is improving . . . or is it?

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Experts are “guardedly optimistic” there has been an improvement in the water quality of the Indian River Lagoon.

Lagoon water is looking better than it has in a long time, according to Duane De Freese, executive director of the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program.

De Freese was part of a panel discussion Wednesday at the Taxpayers Association of Indian River County monthly meeting.

Water-quality improvement, however, depends on which part of the lagoon you are talking about, De Freese said. The water in Indian River County, for example, is looking remarkably better than water in Brevard County and northward.

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“In our backyard, we’re looking better in terms of water quality,” said De Freese. “But even though the water is clear, we have a lot of areas where sea grasses have not recovered, and that’s a worry for me.

"We are seeing those spots that are attempting to recover. It was a cool winter and we’ve been relatively dry, so in this stretch of the lagoon, I’m guardedly optimistic, although we still have a fragile system.”

A similar recovery definitely is not the case in Brevard County, the Southern Mosquito Lagoon and the Banana River, which has experienced a continuous brown-tide bloom for the past 18 months, he said.

And in Martin and St. Lucie counties, De Frees said, even the occasional discharges from Lake Okeechobee have created salinity problems.

“We are hoping for the best, but my prediction — not scientific, but after 40 years of being here — is we’ve got a tough summer coming up,” said De Frees. “It warms up, the rains come and we should expect rolling algae blooms at least in parts of the lagoon.

"Hopefully right here, close to the Sebastian Inlet, we’re spared a little bit of that intensity.”

De Frees was joined on the panel by James Gray, executive director of the Sebastian Inlet District; and Bob Solari, chairman of the Indian River County Commission.

While the county has spent millions of dollars on improvements for the lagoon, Solari said, he is unsure it's made much of a difference.

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“Even though we’ve been working hard in Indian River County for 10 years, I’m not sure we have gotten to the point where things are getting better rather than worse, despite our efforts,” said Solari. “The water might look good but is it really good?”

Specifically around the Sebastian Inlet, Gray said, general water quality definitely is better because of fresh water/salt water exchange and the return of sea grasses.

“It wasn’t until 2018 that we started seeing manatee grasses starting to come back in,” said Gray. “Overall, I’m hopeful that I can continue to say that the sea grasses around the Sebastian Inlet area are stable, if not returning, to where they once were about 10 years ago.”

Indian River County Administrator Jason Brown asked how the county can tell if its efforts are making an impact on the water quality. For De Frees, it’s all about keeping track of metrics, which will be different depending on which area of the lagoon is being studied.

“You want as many of those metrics going in the right direction,” said De Frees. “The challenge is that Mother Nature doesn’t always do what we want.”

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