Project to improve water quality in Indian River Lagoon moves forward
The Crane Creek/M-1 Canal Flow Restoration Project will reduce the amount of nutrients and sediments flowing via Crane Creek (pictured) to the Indian River Lagoon while supplementing water supplies in the St. Johns River.
The Crane Creek/M-1 Canal Flow Restoration Project will reduce the amount of nutrients and sediments flowing via Crane Creek (pictured) to the Indian River Lagoon while supplementing water supplies in the St. Johns River.
Board awards contract for Crane Creek/M-1 Canal Flow Restoration Project
PALATKA, Fla., Nov. 10, 2020 — The St. Johns River Water Management District Governing Board on Tuesday awarded a contract for the construction of the Crane Creek/M-1 Canal Flow Restoration Project, a project aimed at reducing nutrient flows to the Indian River Lagoon.
“This project will provide substantial water quality benefits to the Indian River Lagoon while restoring flow and providing additional, clean water supply to the St. Johns River,” said St. Johns River Water Management District Executive Director Dr. Ann Shortelle. “Projects like this are complex and costly, so we’re grateful to Brevard County’s Save Our Indian River Lagoon Program, which contributed more than $2 million, and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, which provided nearly $2.5 million toward this beneficial project.”
The M-1 Canal is a century-old man-made flood control feature in Brevard County that serves Melbourne, West Melbourne, Melbourne Village and portions of unincorporated Brevard County, diverting stormwater flow from 5,300 acres of the historic St. Johns River basin through Crane Creek to the Indian River Lagoon.
The completed project will reduce the flow of nutrients and sediments to the lagoon by re-diverting stormwater west where it historically flowed to the St. Johns River. Major project components include an operable weir, a stormwater pump station and a stormwater treatment area to ensure that nutrients and sediments are removed prior to the water’s return to the St. Johns River.
Excess nutrients and sediments in stormwater degrade water quality in the Indian River Lagoon. This restoration project aims to reduce nutrient and sediment loads to the Indian River Lagoon by treating and returning baseflows and storm flows back to the St. Johns River.
Work is set to begin this winter. The total estimated project cost is $10.3 million.