MERRITT ISLAND, Fla. – There are new incentives for people who live on the Indian River Lagoon to get off their old septic systems.
The nitrogen from old septic tanks is part of the blame for decades of pollution in the lagoon. This week, county commissioners voted to give people upgrading their systems at least $6,000.
Under Florida law, by 2030, they have to be upgraded to a system that releases minimal amounts of nitrogen which creates algae blooms.
Al Jenney on waterfront Milford Point Drive said he sees the pollution up close.
“20 years ago, when I bought here, the water was crystal clear,” Jenney said. “There was seagrass everywhere, and now, there’s just muck.”
Jenney told Merritt Island Community Correspondent James Sparvero about the headache of just maintaining his old system.
That’s what his yard was dug up for on Thursday.
“Every so often, we have to pump out the septic tanks, have to rip out all my vegetation,” Jenney said.
Milford Point Drive is part of a plan to get on a sewer line, but Jenney said that line hasn’t been installed yet.
Sparvero asked the county and is waiting for an answer if coquina is still the problem.
A year ago, Sparvero reported the rock beneath the surface was stalling work.
As Jenney and his neighbors still wait to make the conversion, the homeowner said he’s not as excited about the possibility of voters being asked to renew the county’s ten-year lagoon sales tax in 2026.
“Absolutely not, unless we can see them actually doing something instead of studies,” he said.
With the tax money, the county said it’s completed about $100 million in restoration projects like dredging and muck removal.
You can weigh in next on the possibility of renewing the tax.
Public workshops will be held on Monday night, January 5 at Titusville City Hall and Monday night, January 12 at Palm Bay City Hall.
Both meetings start at 5 o’clock.