By the TC Palm Editorial Board
December 7, 2016
TC Palm
Indian River Lagoon
This year has been a disaster for the Indian River Lagoon — especially the southern section, which was ravaged by massive discharges of polluted freshwater from Lake Okeechobee for much of 2016.
The glass-half-empty approach views the problems confronting the lagoon as insurmountable.
The glass-half-full approach sees opportunities to restore and preserve this treasured waterway.
Let’s consider the latter.
New Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, is advocating a proposal to buy land south of Lake O for water storage and treatment to end the discharges. It may be a long shot, but it’s a viable solution to the problem.
Equally important, the five counties fronting the 156-mile lagoon — Volusia, Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin — have banded together to restore the lagoon.
Never has our region been more unified to accomplish this singular objective.
Never have we been so strategically positioned to maximize state and federal grants for water projects, and to speak with a unified voice in Tallahassee and Washington, D.C.
The source of unity and advocacy is the Indian River Lagoon Council, created in 2015 to oversee lagoon research and restoration projects as the local participant in the National Estuary Program.
After twice declining to join the lagoon council, the newly reconstituted Indian River County Commission voted last month to participate in the organization. The commission’s decision is both substantive and symbolic: It demonstrates contiguous support for the council and its mission.
“Indian River County’s decision is an important step forward,” said Duane De Freese, the council’s executive director. The conservation and stewardship of the lagoon require collaboration, he said.
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