Project Location
Vero Beach, Indian River County
27.59221721, -80.39419634Project Timeline
Duration: Completed
Project Contacts
Project Summary
The primary purpose of Osprey Acres is to extend Osprey Marsh’s treatment train to remove residual nitrogen and phosphorus from Osprey Marsh’s effluent, and to increase the County’s ability to meet proposed total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) for nutrients discharged into the Indian River Lagoon. Additionally, Osprey Acres serves a secondary purpose by preserving 60+ acres of pristine native upland habitat and by creating 17 acres of aquatic habitat for fish and waterfowl.
Finally, because of its immediate proximity to Osprey Marsh, the site will easily become a very important and popular public education facility for adults and school children, leading to additional pollution reduction by increasing public awareness and education.
Project Goals
Waterbody Impacted: Indian River Lagoon
BMAP Information
Osprey Acres is a logical continuation of the Osprey Marsh treatment train. Osprey Marsh is listed as an Indian River County BMAP project: Project IRC-6.
Community Improvement
Hiking trails for education, elevated platform, educational kiosk
Site Conditions
This project provides a unique opportunity for public education and observation of an operating pollutant removal system using naturally occurring aquatic plants as the primary removal tool, and to show that pollutant removal projects can coexist with nature.
Project Maintenance
Annual Cost: $100,000
Project Cost & Funding
Total Project Cost: $6,668,424
Total Construction Cost: $3,637,123
Community Engagement
The project was presented to the Indian River County Commission, which unanimously approved (5-0) going forward with project design, permitting, construction, and cost-share grant application.
Osprey Acres offers an excellent educational platform for adults and school children through the use of educational walking trails and an elevated platform on the western boundary, where Osprey Marsh’s algal turf scrubber’s operation can be viewed and explained. It is the County’s intent to schedule regular field trips for County school children to Osprey Acres and Osprey Marsh.
Outcomes & Results
Success will be measured by calculating the amounts of nutrients and suspended solids removed by the system. Removals will be determined through water quality sampling of system influent and effluent. Average flow rates will be determined through flow measurements at influent and effluent weir structures. From this data, pounds of nutrients removed per sampling period will be estimated.
Water quality/quantity benefits
Using the draft report and the required percentage reductions from the 2009 Gao report, the County estimated the pounds of nutrients it may be required to remove from current discharges into the Lagoon in order to meet its TMDL requirements: total nitrogen = 114,291 pounds/year and total phosphorus = 18,666 pounds/year.