BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Thanks to millions of dollars from a half-cent sales tax increase in Brevard County, 42 clean-up projects at the Indian River Lagoon have been green-lit by county commissioners.
The sales tax increase is expected to raise $25 million between January and September.
The push to clean the lagoon comes after a massive fish kill in 2016 and should remove tens of thousands of pounds of nutrients that are the root of the problem each year, officials said.
“It’s incredible,” Natural Resources Management director Virginia Barker said. “In less than a year, we’ve come from the worst fish kill on record to a funded plan to fix the problem and a huge list of projects to get started on within weeks from now.”
The list of projects includes storm water improvements, shoreline restoration, muck dredging and septic-to-sewer projects.
While the fix meant a tax increase, Rockledge resident James Smith said it was worth the cost.
“This will help the environment, it’ll help us, it helps everybody in the end so it’s good,” he said.