LagoonFacts

Prevention

Practical prevention: what keeps nutrients out of the lagoon

The water management district identifies multiple contributing sources of nutrient pollution rather than a single culprit: sewer system failures, septic tanks, stormwater runoff, fertilizer and pesticides, agricultural discharges and construction sediment. Public projects address the large sources; the habits and standards below address the ones households and neighborhoods control. Every item links to the rule or guidance it comes from.

SJRWMD: sources of water pollution ↗ Why projects and prevention run in parallel →

Landscaping and fertilizer

Brevard County’s fertilizer ordinance (County Code Chapter 46, Article XIII) and most city ordinances set the rules; UF/IFAS Florida-Friendly Landscaping supplies the practice.

  • No nitrogen or phosphorus fertilizer June 1 through September 30. The rainy-season restriction has applied in the County and most cities since 2013. County pollution-prevention page ↗
  • Zero phosphorus year-round unless a UF/IFAS-approved soil or tissue test shows a deficiency, and at least 50% slow-release nitrogen in any product applied. Read the guaranteed-analysis panel: the middle N-P-K number should be 0 and the slow-release fraction at least half of the first number. County rule summary ↗
  • Keep a fertilizer-free zone near water. Setbacks range from 10 to 25 feet depending on the city; UF/IFAS recommends a maintenance-free zone of at least 10 feet along any waterfront. Check your city’s ordinance on the UF/IFAS ordinance list. UF/IFAS nine principles ↗
  • Right plant, right place; water only when needed; keep clippings and leaves off streets and out of drains. These are three of the nine Florida-Friendly Landscaping principles, and grass clippings in the gutter are fertilizer headed for the lagoon. FFL program ↗
  • Do not fertilize before heavy rain or during storm watches and warnings; nutrients applied ahead of rain move into storm drains and groundwater. County Lagoon Loyal guide ↗

Check “natural” lawn-treatment claims before acting on them

The County rule is written in terms of nitrogen and phosphorus content, not marketing terms. Manure, compost, biosolid and “organic” or “natural” products contain nitrogen and phosphorus too; the same seasonal restriction, zero-phosphorus default and slow-release requirement apply according to what the label says. A claim that a product “feeds the soil, not the lagoon,” “cannot run off” or “is lagoon-safe” is a marketing statement unless the guaranteed-analysis label and a soil test support it. We did not find County or UF/IFAS guidance endorsing any specific natural product for lagoon protection: no result found in the records reviewed here. The reliable checks are the label, the calendar and the setback.

Drainage and stormwater

Stormwater is not treated at a plant. What enters a storm drain, ditch or canal reaches a pond at best and the lagoon at worst.

  • Keep yard waste, soil and pet waste out of streets, swales, ditches and storm drains. Bag pet waste; blow clippings back onto the lawn; keep soil covered with mulch or plants. SJRWMD on stormwater runoff ↗
  • Slow and soak the water on your lot. Direct downspouts onto lawn or planted beds rather than the driveway, use rain barrels, keep swales open and planted, and reduce paved area where you can (FFL principle 8, Reduce stormwater runoff). FFL principles ↗
  • Wash vehicles on grass or at a car wash that recycles water; never drain pool or spa water, paint, oil or chemicals to the street. Report illicit discharges to the County Watershed Program. County pollution-prevention tips ↗
  • Protect the waterfront. On canal or lagoon lots, keep a no-mow, no-fertilizer, no-pesticide buffer of at least 10 feet and consider native shoreline plants (FFL principle 9). UF/IFAS waterfront guidance ↗

Wastewater: septic and sewer

Standard septic systems do not remove nutrients. Sandy soils and high water tables give septic effluent a path to groundwater and the lagoon.

  • If sewer is legally available, connect. Under Florida House Bill 1379 (2023), properties with existing septic systems in the Indian River Lagoon Protection Program area must connect to central sewer if available, or upgrade to a nitrogen-reducing system, by July 1, 2030. HB 1379 ↗ · How to check availability and costs →
  • Use the County grants before any work starts. Septic-to-Sewer (Quick Connects) reimbursement up to $24,000 (force-main or pumped) or $12,000 (gravity); septic upgrade grants up to $18,000 where sewer is not feasible; private sewer lateral repair grants. Approval must come before work. County homeowner grants ↗
  • Maintain the system you have. Have the tank inspected and pumped on the schedule your septic contractor and the Florida Department of Health recommend, keep heavy loads off the drainfield, and fix leaks that overload it. SJRWMD septic guidance ↗
  • Repair leaking private laterals. The pipe from your house to the sewer main is yours; the County’s lateral repair grant exists because detected leaks are common. Grant page ↗

Progress to date is counted administratively: the County’s October 2026 report lists 2,808 completed homeowner projects and 1,094 completed conversions to sewer, counted separately. Evidence record ↗

Development standards to ask about

New construction decides the next decade of loading. These are the standards on the books and the questions worth asking at a hearing.

  • New septic systems: Brevard’s Nitrogen Reduction Overlay (County Code Chapter 46, Article II, Division 4) sets minimum standards for alternative onsite systems in the overlay area, and state law since January 2024 bars new conventional septic systems in the lagoon basin where sewer is available, requiring sewer connection or enhanced nutrient-reducing systems. County environmental ordinances ↗ · HB 1379 ↗
  • Wastewater plants: HB 1379 requires wastewater facilities discharging to the lagoon to meet advanced wastewater treatment by 2033, and the 2025 Florida DEP basin plans assign nutrient-reduction responsibilities to local governments. DEP basin plans ↗
  • Questions for any proposed development: Will it connect to sewer or use a nutrient-reducing system? What stormwater treatment level is designed, and who maintains it? What fertilizer-free and shoreline buffers are required by the city or County? Is the site within a DEP basin plan area with assigned reductions? Ask for the answers in writing; a rendering is not a permit condition.

LagoonFacts does not endorse products or contractors. Rules vary by city; verify your jurisdiction’s ordinance before acting. Publisher disclosure and the limits of the evidence are on About; documented corrections are welcome at [email protected].