Biscayne Bay Solutions: Recovery Plan

Improving Biscayne Bay’s water quality will require significant reductions in the levels of pollutants within its watershed. Significant improvements must be made to waters received by the Bay and canals through outfalls and sheetflow. Groundwater quality within the Biscayne Aquifer must also be improved given that the aquifer is the Bay’s watershed. Fresh water flows through this highly transmissive aquifer carry pollutants directly into the surface waters of canals and Biscayne Bay.

Many actions are urgently needed to restore the Biscayne Bay watershed and protect the Biscayne Aquifer, as it is our sole source of drinking water and a carrier of pollutants to the Bay. These actions include:

• Pollutant load reduction goals
• Additional monitoring to measure progress against those goals
• Leveraging the County’s role as a local authority
• Open, centralized information data repository
• Demonstration projects – implemented and monitored
• Integrated flood risk reduction and water quality planning, policies, and management
• A climate change vulnerability assessment
• Specific studies that fill key knowledge gaps
• Fertilizer ordinance
• Capitalizing on existing County entities to make improvements to the regulatory review process to focus on Biscayne Bay and increase enforcement

In order to establish a permanent and unified approach to the recovery of water quality in Biscayne Bay and future management of the watershed, the County will better align its resources and inter-governmental relationships to ensure a holistic, comprehensive approach is taken for Biscayne Bay recovery and resilience.

During past national downturns, infrastructure stimulus spending has boosted near-term economic activity. Likewise, improvements to our septic, sewer and stormwater systems are critical investments that will advance the health of the Bay and prove to be the economic stimulus that our County needs.

There is no better time to invest in our County than now. For some of the regulatory-driven investments, such as the Consent Decree to fix leaky sewer lines, managing assets and making sure these programs are fully funded and implemented is a priority.

Therefore, creating design standards, establishing construction inspection requirements and setting operation and maintenance regulations for wastewater collection, including septic systems, water and wastewater, and stormwater collection and drainage system are being reviewed and updated in Chapter 24 of the Miami-Dade County Code as needed in order to ensure countywide infrastructure is working as intended and not contributing pollution to the Bay.

Biscayne Bay’s health is dependent on the activities that happen within its watershed. Improving and restoring habitat countywide has multiple benefits, including diversifying plant and animal species, providing habitat for fisheries, and increasing green spaces that absorb and filter water before it reaches our waterways and the Bay.

Depending on the project, natural infrastructure is just as beneficial: it can provide additional water filtration services, can act as habitat for fisheries and other wildlife that help support our economy, and can protect the shoreline from coastal erosion and storm surge. To that end, the County will implement policies and design guidelines that will focus on utilizing watershed habitat restoration and natural infrastructure to improve the health of the Bay.

Marine debris is one of the most widespread problems stressing the world's oceans, waterways, and coastlines. It can travel long distances and traverse territorial borders, and there are many difficulties in identifying its sources. There are two common sources of marine debris: the actions that take place on land (land-based sources), and the actions that take place in waterways and the marine environment (water-based sources).

It is estimated that 80% of marine debris is from land-based sources. Among its planned actions, the County, through DERM, Miami-Dade Police and partner agencies, will implement a comprehensive marine debris removal program to prevent, reduce and remove the amount of marine debris entering Biscayne Bay and its tidal tributaries.

Miami-Dade County believes every citizen and visitor must be informed and educated about the impact of littering and pollution on our water quality, and that they must be given ample opportunities to create a personal connection to, and responsibility for, the health of Biscayne Bay.

Existing public education campaigns focusing on the health of the Bay will be ongoing, and the County is working on greater coordination with local organizations, municipalities, agencies, academic institutions, environmental organizations and others to ensure the public is getting a cohesive message across the county about their role in caring for Biscayne Bay.

Since all governmental levels have a role in the management of the Bay, funding needs to come from all levels: federal, state and local, as well as public private partnerships. Adequate external funding will be necessary to preserve, protect and revitalize the habitat and watershed for long-term, meaningful results.

To ensure funding for projects and programs, Miami-Dade County is reviewing all potential funding sources to allocate to Biscayne Bay restoration and exploring collaborations with other governments and partner agencies that will result in additional funding for these efforts.