COCOA, Fla. — Florida Governor Ron DeSantis made his way to Brevard County on Tuesday to announce millions of dollars in grants to improve and protect the state’s water resources.
“This is the most biodiverse estuary in all of North America and is a key economic driver both for the region and the state,” said the governor during a press conference.
A large chunk of the money—100 million dollars—will go directly to the Indian lagoon protection program.
“The selected projects will provide the community with funds to upgrade wastewater facilities, covert septic tanks to sewer, and remove runoffs into the Indian River Lagoon,” DeSantis said.
Florida is home to almost 8,000 freshwater lakes, and that’s on top of the more than 82-thousand square miles of aquifer systems. So, it’s safe to say that protecting those resources is good for the environment and the economy - especially the growing number of people moving to Florida yearly.
“It’s been the life butter of our economy when people want to come, and they come from all over the world,” the governor said.
The DeSantis administration also said the grants announced on Tuesday will help remove more than one million pounds of harmful chemicals, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, from the state’s water supplies annually.
“We have addressed better than any time in the state’s history the protection of Florida’s natural resources,” said DeSantis.
According to the governor’s office, the local governments and organizations will have about three months to apply for some of those grants.
We’ve made Florida a model for common-sense conservation, investing nearly $2.9 billion in over 1,000 local projects that are already improving the supply and quality of our water resources.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) March 25, 2025
In Palm Bay this morning, I was pleased to announce an additional $389 million in… pic.twitter.com/1Ao3aG9126
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