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This is the email from Troy Rice to the Melbourne City Council. <br /> --------Original Message-------- <br /> Subject:lndian River Lagoon Seagrasses and Nutrients <br /> Date:Thu,7 Mar 201318:25:34+0000 <br /> From:Troy Rice<trice@sirwmd.com> <br /> To:'citvhall melbourneflorida.org'<citvhall melbourneflorida.org>,'gregiones melbourneflorida.org' <br /> <gregiones melbourneflorida.org>, 'iohnthomas melbourneflorida.org' <iohnthomas melbourneflorida.org> <br /> CC:'citvmanager@melbourneflorida.org'<citvmanager melbourneflorida.org>, <br /> 'citvattornev melbourneflorida.org' <citvattornev melbourneflorida.org>, 'citvclerk melbourneflorida.org' <br /> <citvclerk@melbourneflorida.org>, 'Jenni Lamb' <Jlamb melbourneflorida.org>, Howard Rails <br /> <hralls@melbourneflorida.org>, 'canoe2@digital.net'<canoe2@digital.net>, 'kreinhold85@gmail.com' <br /> <kreinhold85@gmail.com>, 'nhiggs@cfl.rr.com'<nhiggs@cfl.rr.com>, 'dstraub melbourneflorida.org' <br /> <dstraub melbourneflorida.org> <br /> Hello Mayor Meehan and Council Members, <br /> I recently met with several residents who expressed their concern over the troubling condition <br /> of seagrasses in the Indian River Lagoon (IRL), and they have asked that I share with you some <br /> data on the significant seagrass losses that have recently occurred in the estuary. Please find <br /> attached several graphics that show the significant seagrass losses in the lagoon since 2009. 1 <br /> have noted the segments of the lagoon within Melbourne as I119-11 and IR12. These two <br /> segments have lost <br /> 648 acres (-78%) and 1,148 acres (-92%) respectively, within the past 4 years resulting from <br /> nutrient enriched algae blooms. In fact, a 45% overall reduction in the measured lengths of <br /> seagrass transects has occurred in the Central and Northern Indian River Lagoon and Banana <br /> River representing a loss of over 30,000 acres of seagrass since 2009. Many measured <br /> transects, including several in the Melbourne Palm Bay areas of the lagoon have experienced <br /> 100% losses since 2009. <br /> Seagrasses like all plants require sunlight for their growth along with some <br /> nutrients. However, high concentrations of nutrients currently entering the lagoon cause <br /> algae growth to increase because the nutrients act as fertilizer on the algae. Excessive algae <br /> forms mats or blooms which prevent sunlight from reaching the seagrasses on the lagoon <br /> bottom. The goals of the recently adopted Basin Management Action Plans (BMAPs) under <br /> the lagoon's Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) program lead by the Florida Department of <br /> Environmental Protection require nutrient reductions to reduce nitrogen and phosphorous <br /> loadings to the lagoon to improve water quality conditions, allowing seagrasses to re-grow to <br /> near historic depth limits. In addition to the new TMDL- BMAP Plan for the Central IRL, our <br /> Program has been working with the City for many years to implement the recommendations <br /> 2 <br /> 5� 5 � <br />