Domestic
Wastewater to Wetlands Program
Blue Heron Wetlands
The
Blue Heron wetlands have been designed to be a biological filtering
system that reduces nutrient levels of treated water before reaching the
St. Johns River. The man-made wetlands, including berms and upland area,
cover almost 300 acres and can process around 6.75 million gallons a day
(MGD) of wastewater. 4.0 MGD of wastewater coming from the City's Blue
Heron facility and 2.75 MGD coming from the their Osprey/North facility.
The Osprey and Blue Heron Plants have combined wetland influent
parameters of 5 mg/l CBOD, 5 mg/L TSS, 6 mg/L Total Nitrogen, and 1.75
mg/L Total Phosphorus. The wetland acheives on average a discharge of
1.13 mg/L CBOD, 1.26 mg/L TSS, 1.24 mg/L Total Nitrogen, and 0.07 mg/L
Total Phosphorus, which is well below their permitted limits.
The city opened the wetland to the public for Bird Watching and
Wildlife Viewing in early 1998. The wetland is divided into 7
essentially-rectangular sections (see diagram - pdf). A berm road (a
raised unpaved road) surrounds the wetlands. Total distance around the
perimeter is 2.8 miles. The predominant species found in the wetland
include Bulrushes, Naiad, Bladderwaort, Spikerush, Arrowhead, Sand
Cordgrass, Pickerelweed, Watergrass, Smartweed, Duckweed, and Seashore
Paspalum.
Visitor Information
The wetland is located in Titusville off Route 50 about 1/4 mile West
of Interstate 95 at exit 79 (Cheney Highway). There is no fee to access
the wetlands. The wetland is open from 7am to sunset each day.
Because the facility is owned by the city you must sign-in at the office
before entering the wetlands area. When you sign-in ask about the
conditions of the road before you drive on the berm.
Be aware that the wetlands are wild and there may be alligators, so
be careful if you decide to venture out of your vehicle.
Some of the birds seen at the wetland:
 |
|
- Great, Common and Snowy Egrets
- Moore Hen
- Morning Dove
- Green Heron
- Anhinga
- Pied Billed Grebe
- Great Blue Heron
- Red Shouldered Hawks
- White Tailed Deer
- White Ibis, Mottled Duck, Purple Gallinule, Yellow-Crowned and
Black-Crowned Night Heron
- Northern Shrike and Northern Mockingbird, Red-winged
Blackbirds and the Common Grackle
|
- Before heading to the site you may want to contact the facility
at 321-383-5642 for details and confirm accessibility.
Back to Wastewater | Compliance
| Domestic | Industrial
Homepages
