An Owner’s Guide
Your Lagoon

For generations, the Indian River Lagoon’s rich bounty 

has drawn people to its waters for sustenance, 

inspiration and pleasure. Flanking Florida’s east coast, 

the 156-mile-long waterway is rich with history, serving 

as a backdrop for Spanish explorers in the 1500s, 

space explorers in modern times, and an endless 

assortment of entrepreneurs, farmers, cattlemen 

and fishermen.

Today, the lagoon supports a thriving economy spread 

across five coastal counties. The lagoon’s shallow, 

brackish waters offer more than a picturesque 

snapshot. Tourism, aerospace, commercial and 

recreational fishing, maritime industries and agriculture 

all comprise the fabric that defines this diverse region. 

Each year, more people arrive to visit, work and play, 

and live along its shores.

The Indian River Lagoon is not a river, but a special 

type of estuary known as a lagoon. Estuaries are 

biologically prolific waterways in which freshwater 

from creeks and rivers blends with salt water from 

the ocean — in this case the Atlantic Ocean. The 

lagoon also boasts the distinction of being the most 

biologically diverse estuary in the continental United 

States, supporting more than 4,000 species of plants 

and animals — including more than 700 species of 

fish, 300 species of birds and 1,300 species of plants. 

One-third of the United States’ endangered manatee 

population calls the lagoon home, as do more than 50 

other endangered or threatened species.

The primary reason for the lagoon’s vast biodiversity is 

that it straddles a zone where tropical and temperate 

climates meet. Thus, lagoon residents include tropical 

and subtropical species that cannot survive cold 

weather, as well as temperate species that prefer 

cooler climates.

Your Lagoon
Is Fragile

Why should you care about the health of the Indian 

River Lagoon? If you’re an angler, good water quality 

means plenty of fish and natural spawning and feeding 

areas to support large, healthy fish populations. Boaters 

desire to ply clear waters unimpeded by hazards. To 

visitors, a healthy lagoon translates into sparkling vistas 

and the potential for manatee and dolphin sightings. To 

the waterfront homeowner, it means enjoying a view 

without worrying about foul-smelling mats of algae or 

floating dead fish, which can hurt property values.

Unfortunately, portions of the lagoon are no longer 

pristine. Population growth in the lagoon region is 

placing increasing pressure on the estuary. Roughly 

92 percent of the lagoon’s salt marshes and mangrove 

wetlands have been lost or altered by impoundment 

for mosquito control or by commercial and residential 

development. Those activities have degraded water 

quality in the lagoon, affected lagoon fisheries and 

threatened the lagoon’s vast biological diversity.

The growing urbanization of the region may be the 

greatest threat to water quality in the lagoon. As 

impervious surfaces such as rooftops and streetscapes 

multiply, larger volumes of polluted storm water enter 

the lagoon from storm drains or as runoff from the 

surrounding landscape. 

Your Lagoon’s Health

Is Fragile
Is Fragile

Your Lagoon’s

Health Is Fragile

The lagoon is home to a rich array of plants and animals 

that depend on its water quality for their existence. 

Humans, likewise, depend on the lagoon for the many 

recreational and commercial opportunities it provides.

The lagoon is not 

static. Human 

activities have altered 

the lagoon in visible 

and less apparent 

ways. Silt, sediments, 

nutrients, 

chemicals, oils and 

metals find their 

way into the 

lagoon through 

tributaries, 

canals and 

stormwater pipes. 

The estuary’s bottom has been 

selectively dredged, filled or otherwise altered over the 

years. Mangrove wetlands have been replaced by homes 

and marinas. Soaring causeways string together its 

eastern and western shorelines. 

These changes impact sea grasses, which serve as a 

barometer of the lagoon’s health. Sea grasses provide 

food and habitat for fish, manatees and other wildlife, 

and the plants filter pollutants from the water and help 

to stabilize the lagoon bottom. 

Poor water quality diminishes the ability of sunlight to 

reach sea grass, resulting in the decline of grass beds. 

These losses deprive wildlife of a key food source and 

fish of their most important habitat.
Needs Help

Directly or indirectly, we are all responsible for 

maintaining the health of the Indian River Lagoon. Even 

if you live several miles away from the lagoon and never 

visit its shores, fertilizers and pesticides on your lawn 

can reach the estuary in the form of stormwater runoff 

when it rains. As residents, as government leaders, as 

visitors and as responsible individuals, we can each do 

our part to effect positive changes within the lagoon.

Sources of pollution are:

•	 Storm water from urban and suburban

areas, which sends lawn fertilizers, eroded

sediments, pesticides, roadway oils and

greases, pet wastes and trash into storm

drains. Storm drains and drainage systems

in older developments send polluted

rainwater and irrigation water into the

canals and tributaries that drain directly

	 to the lagoon, with no treatment.

•	 Other sources can include wastewater

from poorly located and maintained septic

tanks and occasional discharges from the

few wastewater treatment plants that have

permits for discharges.

Your Lagoon Needs Help
Sunlight is vital for sea grasses and other aquatic 

vegetation, which provide fish and animals with food and 

a place to live and grow.

Nutrient pollution can cause an imbalance in the lagoon 

and trigger massive blooms of algae, which can harm the 

lagoon’s ecosystem by killing fish and adversely impacting 

beneficial plants, such as sea grasses.

Algae are the vital base of the aquatic food chain. 

Sometimes, however, too much algae can crowd 

together. The resulting mass, often called a “bloom,” 

blocks sunlight from reaching underwater plants. 

Dying algae remove dissolved oxygen from the water. 

This can result in fish kills, when oxygen drops below 

minimal levels.

In addition, algal blooms can wreak havoc on recreational 

activities and commerce, due to unsightly green scum, 

pungent odor and public health concerns about toxins 

associated with certain harmful algal species.

We are already witnessing the ways in which the lagoon 

is adapting to adversity. In localized areas of the lagoon, 

fishery populations are reduced and shellfish harvesting 

areas are diminished or closed. Some plants and animals 

that call the lagoon home are simply unable to adapt 

to change. 

Needs Help Your Lagoon Needs Help
Needs You

Your Lagoon Needs You

In some of the more urbanized areas of the Indian 

River Lagoon, the health of the estuary has been upset 

by human activities. Fish kills, algal blooms, toxins in 

some species of fish and shellfish and lesions on dolphins 

and turtles are all symptoms of an estuary in need of 

our help. 

Everyday activities — fertilizing our lawns, flushing our 

toilets, washing our laundry and dishes, neglecting pet 

wastes in our yards and driving our cars — can directly 

impact water quality in the lagoon. While government 

agencies are working to address many of the problems, 

government alone cannot restore the lagoon’s health. 

With little effort, you can take simple steps to ensure 

that you are helping protect this magnificent waterway 

for generations to come. 
Fertilizing

The old adage “more is better” doesn’t always ring 

true, particularly with lawn fertilizer. When fertilizing 

your lawn and landscape, applying the correct amount 

of fertilizer can reduce the amount of pollutants 

reaching waterways, save water, result in a healthier 

landscape and save you money. Applying too much 

fertilizer can stimulate excessive plant growth, aggravate 

pest problems and increase the need for irrigation. 

Excess fertilizers can also wash into storm drains and 

waterways during heavy rains, harming water quality.

•	 Apply fertilizers sparingly, if at all, and follow the

manufacturer’s directions on the bag, particularly 

in the amount per application. Know exactly how 

much area (square footage) of your lawn the bag of 

fertilizer is intended to cover.

•	 Use fertilizer with slow-release, water-insoluble

forms of nitrogen.

•	 Florida soil is naturally high in phosphorous. “No

phosphate” fertilizer is fine for most mature lawns 

and much better for waterways.

•	 Fertilize only during the growing season.

Your Lagoon Needs You

 Fertilize Wisely
Septic System Your Lagoon Needs You

Maintain Your Septic System

A properly located, designed, constructed and 

maintained septic tank system can serve your home as 

efficiently as a central sewer system, but a system that 

does not receive proper care and attention can be a 

financial burden and a health threat. 

•	 Know the location and capacity of your septic tank

system and drainfield, and have a licensed contractor 

inspect the tank at least every three years and pump 

it out if needed.

•	 Keep records of inspections, pumping activity,

repairs and other work.

•	 Install the system so that rainfall and surface

water will flow away from the drainfield and at an 

appropriate distance from nearby waterways.

•	 Install water conservation devices or fixtures to

reduce the total volume of water entering the 

system.

•	 Never flush paper towels, newspapers, diapers, cat

litter, sticks or toxic materials, such as pesticides, 

into the system.

•	 Never overuse ordinary household cleaning

chemicals that will be flushed into the system.

•	 Never use chemical solvents to clean plumbing lines

or a septic tank system, because chemicals can kill 

the microorganisms that consume harmful 

wastes in the system and can 

pollute the groundwater. 
Runoff Your Lagoon Needs You

Minimize Harm From Stormwater Runoff

Regardless of where you live, the rain that runs off 

your roof, lawn and driveway eventually ends up in the 

nearest water body by flowing over land, through canals 

and into storm drains.

Storm drains are direct conduits to stormwater ponds, 

canals or natural waterways like the Indian River 

Lagoon. Water that enters a storm drain does not go 

to a treatment plant. Therefore, it is important to never 

dump anything down the storm drain inlet.

•	 Don’t dump waste oil, chemicals or paint into

ponds, inlets or storm drains. Contact your local 

government’s waste management department for a 

list of disposal facilities.

•	 Repair automobile leaks immediately to reduce

runoff from oil and heavy metals, such as lead, 

copper and cadmium, impacting waterways.

•	 Dispose of household hazardous wastes such

as antifreeze, used motor oil and batteries at 

designated collection or recycling facilities.

•	 Clean up after your pet to prevent animal waste

from washing into waterways.

•	 Compost or recycle yard waste and lawn clippings

when possible. Depositing lawn clippings in water 

bodies and storm drains can increase oxygen 

demand in the water, which can significantly harm 

fish populations and damage seagrass beds — vital 

habitat for animals and aquatic organisms. 
Invasive species

The Indian River Lagoon is the most biologically 

diverse estuary in North America. Unfortunately, 

exotic invasive species of plants and animals also find 

the lagoon a suitable habitat to call home. Whether 

introduced to the lagoon intentionally or by accident, 

nonnative species can cause significant economic harm 

to the lagoon region by displacing indigenous species.

Whether you live near the lagoon or spend time on its 

waters fishing or boating, you can take steps to ensure 

that you aren’t introducing plants or animals that don’t 

belong here.

•	 Use native or Florida-friendly plants in your

landscaping and eradicate exotic species such as 

Brazilian pepper and Australian pine, which displace 

many native species with their thick growth habits.

•	 Never release exotic pets into

the wild. Many, such as snakes and 

iguanas, have no natural predators 

and can wreak havoc on the local 

food chain.

•	 Never release the tropical fish

from your aquarium into the 

lagoon. Instead, see if your 

local pet shop will buy or take 

the fish, or donate the fish to 

an aquarium society, hospital 

or school. 

•	 When launching your boat into

the lagoon, make sure your 

propeller and hull are clean. 

Boats have the potential to act 

as vectors for the introduction 

of new species — such as green 

mussels, Australian spotted 

jellyfish and aquatic plants — 

when they are transported to 

different waterways.

Your Lagoon Needs You

Prevent invaders from harming the natives

Brazilian pepper

Australian spotted jellyfish

Green mussel
Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program

St. Johns River Water Management District

525 Community College Parkway S.E.

Palm Bay, FL 32909

(321) 984-4950 • (800) 226-3747

March 2009

For more tips on how you can help efforts to protect 

and restore the Indian River Lagoon through your 

everyday activities, visit itsyourlagoon.com or contact the 

Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program and the 

St. Johns River Water Management District.