Moving forward
Canal 1 (below) carries freshwater and stormwater runoff from the Palm Bay area to the Indian River Lagoon,
a saltwater estuary. The canal was built for flood protection, but the resulting freshwater it carries to the lagoon has upset
the delicate balance of fresh and salt water in the lagoon. At top is one of the water control structures that regulates the
flow of water in the canal.
Photo by Ed Garland
By Ed Garland
PALM BAY — Canal 1 in Palm Bay slices a wide swath through the city’s midsection, draining roughly 100 square
miles of storm water directly into the Indian River Lagoon.
The canal, known as C-1, provides flood protection to more than 100,000 people in a rapidly growing region. However, C-1
also carries sediment, nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and large volumes of harmful freshwater into the lagoon during
storms. The sediment in the storm water creates turbidity in the lagoon, blocking sunlight and impairing the growth of seagrass
beds.
A reduction in federal funding has stymied attempts to complete a project designed to drastically reduce freshwater discharges
into the lagoon. For several years, the St. Johns River Water Management District has worked with the Melbourne-Tillman Water
Control District and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to design and construct the Canal 1 Rediversion Project. Now that federal
aid has dried up, the District will provide the resources needed to bring the project to completion.
“To fund these types of projects, the Army Corps relies on what are known as Section 206 funds,” says Hector
Herrera, a District senior project manager. “The District has decided to move forward with the plans to design and construct
the C-1 project.”
A brief history of drainage in Palm Bay
The western two-thirds of Palm Bay is within the St. Johns River’s historical drainage basin. Prior to the 1920s,
an old sand dune system named Ten-Mile Ridge separated these swampy, unforgiving lands from the lagoon. The Melbourne-Tillman
Water Control District breached the ridge in 1922, and a network of canals was dug to drain the area to Turkey Creek, allowing
natural wetlands to be converted to agricultural use.
The C-1 rediversion solution
Currently, freshwater from storms is carried eastward through Canal 1 where it flows into Turkey Creek, a tributary of
the lagoon. Under the proposed plan, a water control structure will be built in the canal in the vicinity of the historic
basin divide.
During extreme storms, gates in the structure will allow storm water to flow to the lagoon, but during smaller storms,
water will be rediverted west and stored in a retention area near the St. Johns River. This flow will mimic the historical
flow of the water before canals were constructed. Storm water stored in the retention area will be pumped through a wetland
treatment system before draining to the St. Johns River. The wetland will provide the filtration needed to remove pollutants
before the water is discharged to the St. Johns River.
Herrera anticipates that the design of the water control structure and pump stations will be completed by the end of the
year, with completion of the actual project set for sometime in 2008.
“The C-1 project is designed to improve hard-shell clam and seagrass habitat by diverting up to 68 percent of the
stormwater flow,” he says. “At the same time, the project won’t negatively impact flooding in the Melbourne-Tillman
Water Control District or degrade water quality in the St. Johns River. It’s a win-win situation all around.”
