MERRITT ISLAND, Fla. – Some 295 more homes on the Indian River Lagoon will be converting their septic systems to sewer.
Since Brevard County voters approved a half-penny sales tax increase in 2016, the county has made several hundreds of conversions to improve water quality.
One of the neighborhoods on the list is Milford Point Drive by the Merritt Island Walmart.
The county commission Tuesday approved paying for unexpected cost overruns in making the conversions.
The reason for the overruns? The president of the Indian River Lagoon Coalition said crews found themselves up against a rock.
“Unfortunately, Merritt Island is built on coquina rock,” Craig Wallace said. “This was a problem because they need to get down really deep in order to put the sewer line in so when they ran into rock, they said, ‘Uh oh, we gotta do something different here.’”
Coquina is a rare limestone made from shell fragments that is common in Florida, virtually indestructible if well-formed and easily compressible. The Spanish built the Castillo de San Marco in St. Augustine from coquina.
Wallace said workers had to stop the projects. He was happy the commission took action.
“That was encouraging because we were really questioning when this issue came up,” Wallace said. “This area is such a sensitive area because it’s got the lagoon on both sides of the street so they really need to get this job done.”
Resident Jayne Crocker told News 6 reporter James Sparvero she’s looking forward to making the conversion. She’s lived on the lagoon for 35 years.
“I think it will help the lagoon, and I’m looking forward to being able to redo my yard after they do it,” Crocker said. She mentioned dredging when she said she believes projects paid for by the sales tax have made a difference.
As for her hope for the lagoon’s future: “That it’s cleaner, less polluted, less grass clippings, less fertilizer,” Crocker said.
The Indian River Lagoon Coalition is hosting a ‘Lagoon Straight Talk’ event on Dec. 10 at the Eau Gallie Civic Center in Melbourne from 5:30-8 p.m.
The free event will update the public on restoration progress including projects like septic to sewer conversions.
Residents can learn if their home is eligible for a septic to sewer grant by going to the Save Our Indian River Lagoon website and using the interactive map.
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