County utilities officials were put on the hot seat Dec. 5 to detail plans for improvements to the beachside sewer system which required the discharge of nearly 20 million gallons of raw sewage into an Indian Harbour Beach canal during and just after Hurricane Irma to keep the sewage from backing up in streets and homes in Indian Harbour Beach and Satellite Beach.
Nearly two hours of public comments, and often pointed questions from county commissioners, were evidence of the intensity of the smelly situation, with many residents with expensive homes describing the unthinkable floating by their homes and docks. Many asked how the Indian River Lagoon can be saved and freed from muck when such sewer discharges adversely impact water quality.
Brevard County was already addressing the need for sewer upgrades through a 10-year, $134 million program, but considering the discharges, the plans clearly were not enough to satisfy the crowd that all was being done to avoid a repeat.
Suggestions from commissioners included considering dipping into Save Our Indian River Lagoon funds and supporting House Bill 585, sponsored by state Rep. Randy Fine of Palm Bay, which would enable the use of Brevard Tourist Development taxes, currently earmarked for tourism-related projects, to be used for infrastructure improvements that ultimately benefit the Indian River Lagoon.
In the end, the commission decided to take three measures immediately, including: approving money for engineering and construction on a replacement pipe on North Riverside Drive which had broken four times in the last five years; authorizing the county to seek a $10 million low-interest loan for replacement piping on Riverside Drive; and approving $184,130 for inflow and infiltration smoke testing for a portion of 5,400 residents and businesses in Satellite Beach on the sections of wastewater pipe that are on private property, and which therefore are the residents’ responsibility to repair. The City of Satellite Beach is a partner on the smoke testing program, with City Manager Courtney Barker appearing before the commission.
Barker said it is hard to know how much the other improvements will impact total capacity – or the potential for needed sewer discharges – until the smoke testing determines the amount of infiltration in residential areas.
Indian Harbour Beach City Manager Mark Ryan described living in “ground zero” for the discharges, requiring businesses to close and residents to hide inside.
“It impacted their lives. Citizens couldn’t utilize their yards,’’ he said.
Responding after the meeting was Terry Casto, a member of the board of directors for the Marine Resources Council who also serves on the Citizens Oversight Committee for the Save Our Indian River Lagoon Project Plan.
“We could spend all the (lagoon) trust fund money building a bullet-proof sewer system and we would still have algae blooms, fish kills, much accumulation and degraded water quality. As a county, we are paying the price for ignoring the needed investment too long, however, diverting (lagoon) trust fund money” would severely impact critical efforts to lessen environmental problems damaging the lagoon, Casto said.