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Page 17 <br />Attachment B: Supporting Research <br />November 24, 2020 <br />Update 2 — Research Review Phase of IRL Plan <br />The U.S. Geological Surveys (USGS) maintains monitoring stations on each of the Relief Canals. The <br />stations do not record all canal flows, but can give an indication of the average canal flows over various <br />time periods. From 2014 through 2018, the approximate average flows in million gallons per day (MGD) <br />in the three Relief Canals were: <br />North Relief Canal = 28.3 MGD <br />Main Relief Canal = 45.0 MGD <br />South Relief Canal = 39.7 MGD <br />The average pounds of nutrients discharged into the Lagoon per year can be estimated using the data <br />above as: <br />North Relief Canal = 85,287 pounds/year of TN and 14,645 pounds/year of TP <br />Main Relief Canal = 116,437 pounds/year of TN and 15,068 pounds/year of TP <br />South Relief Canal = 107,557 pounds/year of TN and 14,502 pounds/year of TP <br />The County has undertaken some regional scale nitrogen and phosphorus reducing projects such as <br />Osprey Acres, Osprey Marsh, Spoonbill Marsh, and Egret Marsh. It is estimated that the County removes <br />approximately 80,170 pounds/year of TN and 12,123 pounds/year of TP from reaching the Lagoon <br />through these facilities. The County should continue to promote and expand education efforts <br />surrounding the removal of excess nutrients, such as the continuation of the fertilizer ordinance, the <br />education of residents to be mindful of storm drains and the impacts of what goes down them, and Florida <br />Friendly Yards. The County is proactive in removing excess nutrients, with the continued creation and <br />completion of projects aimed at lessening the load of nutrients from wastewater and stormwater. These <br />projects can be costly, so the County should continue to pursue grants in order to help fund these <br />initiatives. <br />Once the runoff enters into the Lagoon, various water quality monitoring stations from different <br />entities track water quality trends measured. Some of these entities include Florida Atlantic University's <br />Harbor Branch, Ocean Research & Conservation Association (ORCA), SJRWMD, and FDEP. The data <br />measured by these entities are available on their respective websites. Using SJRWMD data, average <br />nutrient levels for 2020 data collected thus far are listed below: <br />Average Nitrogen and Phosphorus Levels Measured in the Lagoon by SJRWMD (January <br />2020 through July 2020) <br />Parameter <br />IRLIRJ01— North <br />IRLIRJ04 — Central <br />I1RLIRJ08 — South <br />Total Kjeldahl <br />Nitrogen (mg/L) <br />0.41 <br />0.51 <br />0.47 <br />TP (mg/L) <br />0.05 <br />0.08 <br />0.06 <br />118 <br />