What You Get

Six ways lagoon health connects to daily life.

The Indian River Lagoon is not only an environmental resource. Regional studies value the estuary in the billions of dollars a year across its seven-county watershed — supporting fishing, boating, tourism, waterfront property values, coastal marine industries, and scientific and aerospace institutions on its shores. Each figure below is tied to its study’s geography, year and methodology. Regional valuations do not establish a particular household’s return from the tax, so this page does not publish a household payback figure.

Waterfront value and lagoon health.

Lagoon-adjacent real estate contributes $23 billion in property value across the region. In the study's Indian River County sample, a three-bedroom home within 100 meters of the water was associated with an estimated $660,000 sales premium relative to an otherwise comparable property farther away. That specific estimate should not be assumed for every Brevard property, but the study found that lagoon proximity materially affects regional property value. The study is a 2025 regional valuation covering the seven-county lagoon watershed; it does not measure the effect of the SOIRL tax on any one property. Property values tied to lagoon proximity are exposed when water quality, wildlife, recreation and confidence in the lagoon decline.

Balmoral hedonic study, 2025 (backup)

Seagrass recovery supports fish habitat.

Mapped seagrass acreage grew roughly 72% between 2023 and 2025 (SJRWMD). Seagrass is the nursery habitat that supports estuary-dependent gamefish like snook, redfish, and spotted seatrout; long-term fisheries recovery would be expected to follow habitat recovery, but fishery-specific recovery data on that timescale is not yet published. Recreational fishing, boating, and shoreline activities generate an estimated $6.8 billion a year across the seven-county watershed.

SJRWMD seagrass update, May 2026 · Evidence record

Regional jobs and wages connected to the lagoon.

A seven-county regional valuation estimates that lagoon-connected industries support roughly 128,400 jobs and $8.3 billion in wages across the whole watershed — hospitality, marine industries, aerospace, natural resource management, and commercial fishing. That valuation is regional; a Brevard-specific job or wage share is not separately published. See the /onelagoon/ page for context on how the seven-county valuation is used and what it does and does not measure.

2025 Economic Valuation Study

Cleaner runoff, healthier groundwater.

Every septic-to-sewer conversion the tax funds reduces the amount of nitrogen entering shallow groundwater near the lagoon. Household costs from these conversions vary — connection fees and utility bills replace septic maintenance and eventual replacement — and are handled through Brevard County’s homeowner assistance program. The County’s October 2026 progress report lists 2,808 completed homeowner projects and 1,094 completed conversions to sewer, counted separately. Evidence record.

October 2026 SOIRL progress report, p. 1

Natural shorelines can support resilience.

Wetlands hold back over 100 billion gallons of storm water every year. Wetlands, stormwater systems, oyster reefs, and living shorelines can reduce wave energy, retain runoff, and improve regional resilience. Regional flood-mitigation value is estimated at $500 million a year. The scale of protection varies substantially by project, storm, elevation, and location; no individual project guarantees that a particular home will avoid flooding.

Balmoral ecosystem services, 2025 (backup)

The aerospace hub shares the shoreline.

The Space Coast's rapidly growing aerospace industry uses lagoon-front infrastructure and depends on the region's ability to attract and retain talent. A degraded lagoon costs Brevard both. The Balmoral 2025 valuation is regional and does not isolate an aerospace-specific lagoon value for Brevard.

Balmoral executive summary (backup)

The bottom line.

The lagoon surtax is 0.5 percent of spending subject to the surtax — a sales surtax, not a property tax. Example: $10,000 of eligible spending produces $50 in lagoon surtax; applicable exemptions and surtax limits affect the eligible base. Regional studies describe large economic values connected to the lagoon, but they do not establish a particular household’s annual return from the tax, so no payback multiplier is published here. Restoration projects operate only as long as they are funded.

See the cost illustration → How and where to vote

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