BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Brevard County is putting $12 million in repairs on the fast track to protect the Indian River Lagoon.
Millions of gallons of raw sewage were discharged into the waterway after Hurricane Irma.
The storm exposed serious problems for the Brevard County Utilities department.
According to a recently signed consent order with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, between Sep. 11 2017, and Oct. 18 2017, power outages, inflow and collection system failures resulted in the release of roughly 20 million gallons of sewage.
“We had a prioritization plan that we already put in place, but once Hurricane Irma occurred beachside and we realized there were some serious problems beachside, we reprioritized,” said Brevard County communications director Don Walker.
That bond-funded infrastructure plan now includes $12 million in fast-tracked beachside projects that were worked out with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection with input from the office of state Rep. Randy Fine.
They include the planned replacement of the north riverside force main, a rehab of the south beaches collection system and a pilot program for smoke testing in Satellite Beach to check for possible defects in the sewer system.
That process began this week. Fine still believes the county may need more motivation to avoid future discharges.
“One of the things we're going to be working on next year in legislation is increasing those fines, because this is the job of the County Commission. Every time they release raw sewage into the Indian River Lagoon they are breaking the law. There is never an acceptable reason for it,” said Fine.
Part of the Satellite Beach pilot program will include educating homeowners on their role in preventing sanitary sewer overflows.
Cox Media Group
