Water Quality/Quantity BMPs for Indian River Area Citrus Groves
This site is a collection of Best Management Practices that are directed at enhancing and protecting the water resources of the Indian River Lagoon and St. Lucie Estuary Watersheds. It is recognized by all the groups that participated in the development of this document that this collection of BMPs will need to be revisited, reviewed, and modified over time as new scientific data becomes available. Many activities such as urban development, agriculture, industry, and regional water management have all impacted the waters of the IRL and SLE. Over the years, several projects have been initiated to address environmental impacts in the IRL and SLE. Numerous efforts and activities have been initiated and are currently underway to improve surface water discharges to the SLE and IRL. There is no single project or effort that will eliminate all human impacts to the estuary and lagoon. Improvements will come through incremental program achievements, projects, and efforts that reduce the volume of water and loadings of constituents that degrade water quality. These incremental achievements and activities cover all land uses from agriculture to urban, and include a variety of efforts such as education, water conservation programs, mobile irrigation labs, surface water permit design criteria, regional reservoirs, urban stormwater retrofit projects, and BMPs. The BMPs that have been developed in this document are for the entire Indian River Citrus Area.
