The St. Lucie River and Estuary is an essential component of the environmental and economic well-being of Martin and St. Lucie counties. This historic, scenic river attracts a variety of commercial, recreational and educational activities like fishing, crab trapping, photography, recreational boating, painting, writing, environmental studies and eco-tourism.
There is an intersection of waterways in Martin County, commonly known as the "crossroads." This is the place where the Indian River Lagoon, the mouth of the St. Lucie River and the St. Lucie Inlet meet.
Traveling northwest from this point into the main body of the St. Lucie River, just west of the Roosevelt Bridge, the St. Lucie River divides. To the right, is the North Fork of the river which flows through Martin County, then into St. Lucie County. To the left, the South Fork of the river meanders along, connecting with the cross-state Okeechobee Waterway at a distance of about 15 miles from the crossroads. This 152-mile-long waterway was constructed by the Army Corps of Engineers and was completed in 1937.
The purpose of this project was to provide a way to release water from the lake when flooding threatened, and to open the eastern end of a cross-state waterway to connect the two coasts of Florida. Through this waterway, boats may travel from the Atlantic Ocean, through the St. Lucie locks and canal, through Lake Okeechobee, exiting at Ft. Myers on the west side. The locks raise traveling boats from sea level to the level of Lake Okeechobee on the east side and down again to sea level on the west side.
This waterway, while opening providing for the release of excess water from Lake Okeechobee and cross-state navigation, also creates some long-range problems. As water is released, sediment from eroding canal banks and pollutants from stormwater runoff have negative effects on water quality in the St. Lucie River. Efforts to reduce erosion of canal banks and secure holding areas for water to allow sediment to settle and be filtered are some proposed solutions to these problems.
Another problem associated with water releases from Lake Okeechobee is the drastic change in salinity levels within the St. Lucie Estuary. As the St. Lucie River's freshwater flows toward the sea and mixes with the ocean's salt water it becomes the St. Lucie Estuary. The St. Lucie River, part of the Indian River Lagoon estuary system, is home to thousands of plant and animal species, including manatees, dolphins, sea turtles and seahorses.
The St. Lucie Estuary ecosystem is threatened by increasing residential and commercial development, industry and agriculture, and human negligence. The construction of extensive agricultural and urban drainage projects has substantially expanded the watershed of the St. Lucie Estuary. The effects of these man-made changes have caused significant alterations in the timing (excess wet season flows, insufficient dry season flows), distribution, quality, and volume of freshwater entering the estuary. The estuarine environment is sensitive to freshwater releases, and these alterations have placed severe stress on the entire ecosystem. Extreme salinity fluctuations and ever-increasing inflows have contributed to major changes in the structure of the communities within the estuary, as seen by seagrass and oyster losses.
Efforts to restore and maintain this estuary have been undertaken by these and other initiatives:
About Watersheds
Estuaries
