GOVERNMENT
capture and hold rainwater runoff and polluted water from
the C-23 canal, keeping it from cascading into the North Fork
of the St. Lucie River and the Indian River Lagoon.
THE RIGHT MOVE
The day couldn’t come too soon for Dave Brigida, president
of the Port St. Lucie Anglers Club. “I think this is the
right thing to do to protect the North Fork and the Indian
River Lagoon,” he said. “We really need to do something
right now.”
Polluted water in the St. Lucie River and the Indian River
Lagoon affects the quality of life of residents and it hurts the
economy, he noted, pointing to a drop-off in business at area
bait shops as just one example.
The captured water won’t just reduce pollution in those
waters, it will eventually help supply the city with cleaned,
treated water for drinking.
“We should really take the opportunity to prepare for the
day when we need more water,” Brigida said. “It’s basic, like
air. It’s right to prepare for a larger city now and not wait
until the need is upon you.”
After purchasing 3,107 acres of the McCarty property in
2012, the city grabbed the opportunity to buy in 2014 an additional
1,900 acres adjacent to the canal where the six new
capture reservoirs will be. A seventh reservoir, more than
twice as big as the others, will just hold rainwater. Reservoir
sizes vary from 49 acres to 300 acres. But the rainwater-only
reservoir will be 730 acres.
HANDLING RUNOFF
When complete, consultants estimate that the $8 million
project will keep 9 billion gallons of canal water and surface
stormwater runoff from the North Fork and the Indian River
Lagoon. That’s equal to removing up to 21 percent of the >>
Port St. Lucie Magazine 13
CANAL BASICS
Note that the C before each number stands for Canal.
• C-23 flows to St. Lucie River at the Martin-St. Lucie
County Line, then to the Indian River Lagoon.
• C-24 flows to the North Fork of the St. Lucie River and
then south, where it ends up in the Indian River Lagoon.
• C-44 flows from Lake Okeechobee to the South Fork of
the St. Lucie River in Martin County and then flows north
where it ends up in the Indian River Lagoon.
... from the city’s watershed map.
“The start of the project is a
hallelujah moment” for the city,
Grande said.