The St. Lucie River and estuary are located on the central east coast of Florida and covers approximately 780 square miles with approximately 9.2 square miles of estuary. Historically, rainfall on the watershed was detained in natural wetland systems and gradually percolated into the ground water, evaporated, and/or flowed overland into tributaries. In this natural watershed, the northern tributaries (i.e. Ten Mile Creek) were the largest. These tributaries received most of the flow since the western watershed topography slopes northward and a coastal ridge lying parallel to the inner estuary acted as a barrier to flow to the central portion of the inner estuary. The cumulative flow from the natural watershed, which included flows from the smaller South Fork tributaries, flowed into the St. Lucie River and provided freshwater to the Indian River Lagoon. However, in the late 1800's the St. Lucie Inlet was constructed, allowing tidal exchange that transformed the freshwater river to a riverine estuary. Assuming the St. Lucie Inlet is a permanent part of the landscape, environmental enhancement efforts are directed toward creating a healthy estuarine environment, not "restoring" it to the former freshwater river.
The St. Lucie River estuary is now one of the largest brackish water systems on the east coast of Florida and has the potential to provide vital habitat for substantial populations of fish and invertebrates that have biological and economic importance. This productive ecosystem has been adversely affected by many watershed and shoreline activities. The water shed has been modified by urban and agricultural development and associated drainage requirements and water quality concerns. These modifications include construction of numerous drainage conveyance systems connected to major canals (e.g. C-23, C-24, and C-44). Much of the watershed runoff from the north Fork drainage basins flows quickly into major canals that transverse the coastal ridge instead of being retained, evaporated, cleansed, and attenuated by natural systems. In addition to the watershed runoff conveyance, the C-44 canals also provides a route for excessive Lake Okeechobee watershed runoff to the South Fork of the River. These discharges are conducted to avoid Lake levels that jeopardize the integrity of the Lake's perimeter levee and fringing wetland communities. Runoff from both watersheds contains substances from urban and agricultural landscapes, including pesticides, suspended solids, and nutrients. The result is that water of degraded quality is delivered in significantly altered timing and durations.
The greater area is unique in that it contains a number of natural areas that are essentially intact and in public ownership. These include;
Water Supply Plans
St. Lucie River and Estuary
For more information on the St. Lucie River MFL project and its current status:
