How can shoreline buffers help our receiving waters like the Indian River Lagoon?

Excess nutrients entering the Indian River Lagoon have been attributed to a reduction in the amount of seagrass in the lagoon. Seagrasses are essential to the lagoon and serve as the primary indicator of the lagoon’s overall health.

Excess nutrients can cause algae blooms and aquatic weed growth which can block needed sunlight from the water and rob the water of oxygen, killing plants, fish, wildlife and may even trigger human health concerns. By removing some of these nutrients upstream, prior to the runoff leaving the pond, those pollutants will never enter the Lagoon.

Littoral zone and shoreline buffers can be an effective means of filtering out pollutants around many types of waterbodies including:

  • Canals
  • Ditches
  • Lakes
  • Ponds
  • Rivers

Show All Answers

1. What is a littoral zone?
2. Why is a littoral zone so important?
3. How can shoreline buffers help our receiving waters like the Indian River Lagoon?