The Vero Beach City Council last week struck another blow in the battle against nitrogen in the Indian River Lagoon, voting unanimously to expand septic-to-sewer conversions into unincorporated parts of the county.
The city plans to use its STEP system technology to channel waste from county septic tanks into city sewers so that nitrogen from human waste and other harmful chemicals does not enter groundwater and end up in the lagoon.
Vero plans to “prioritize the extension of wastewater utility service into ‘basins’ based on proximity to surface water that may have a negative impact on the water quality in city watersheds,” focusing on areas within reach of its sewer lines.
While many of these areas are on the mainland, there are numerous small oceanfront basins on the island oceanfront, both north and south of the city limits.
An example of the type of neighborhoods being targeted is Basin 10, north of Route 60 and west of 43rd Avenue. One corner of the neighborhood adjoins the main relief canal, a direct conduit to the lagoon, meaning that polluted groundwater from the neighborhood ends up swirling around game fish and dolphins.
STEP – Septic Tank Effluent Pump – systems interrupt that destructive flow by capturing sewage from households and businesses with septic tanks, channeling the effluent to the city wastewater treatment plant.
Using small bore pipes, STEP systems cost less than half as much to install as traditional gravity sewers and don’t require tearing up streets or wrecking yards, sparing the roots of the island’s iconic oak trees.
Both the state and city have established deadlines for septic systems to be hooked up to the main sewer system. The nitrogen in feces and urine – which is a product of protein breakdown in the body – feeds destructive algae blooms in the lagoon, leading to the loss of seagrass, fish kills, and death and disease among marine mammals such as dolphins and West Indies manatees.
Phosphorous, cleaning products, pharmaceutical residue and other chemicals in human waste also harm the lagoon ecosystem.
Residents in the designated basins will be eligible for up to $3,390 in credits toward purchase and installation of a STEP system for their property. Once the city sends out notifications to these residents, they will have 12 months to take advantage of the credits.
The Clean Water Coalition of Indian River County can offer additional financial assistance to some homesteaded residents, according to Coalition president Judy Orcutt.
“We are trying to help residents stay in their homes,” Orcutt says, noting that the organization has completed a grant for 44 low-income households. And low income is not all that low in this case.
It is defined as “four times the federal poverty rate,” or $132,000 for a family of four, so many people in the affected areas will qualify.
Systems will cost between $12,000 to $15,000, according to Orcutt, which could be a serious financial burden for some residents.
“It is nice to be able to preserve these working-class neighborhoods and not let this septic-to-sewer mandate force people out of their homes,” says Orcutt, who moved to Vero Beach in 1980 and lives in a home on the shore of a lagoon inlet.
“In 1980, you could paddle a canoe out to the middle of the river, see the bottom, and it was sandy. You could dig clams with your toes. We had, like, 20 or 30 manatees in [the water behind our house] all the time.”
Vero Beach Water and Sewer Director Rob Bolton anticipates the build-out of the city’s public plumbing to basins on the mainland by the end of this year, with the barrier island basins completed by the end of 2027.
He said crews will begin construction this week on the mainland in the low-lying Vero Beach Country Club neighborhood, which like Basin 10 adjoins the main relief canal a short distance from the lagoon.
“Once construction is completed, I can notify those residents, and they have 12 months to apply for the credits,” Bolton says.
