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Company proposes nanobubble system to improve Indian River Lagoon water quality; council agrees to explore options
Summary
Moli Air presented a plan to install a floating nanobubble oxygenation system in the Indian River Lagoon and estimated a single installation would cost roughly $2 million to $2.5 million, with annual operating costs of about $150,000–$200,000.
A private company briefed the Titusville City Council on a nanobubble oxygenation system designed to reduce muck, cyanobacteria and low-oxygen “dead-zone” conditions in parts of the Indian River Lagoon.
Moli Air (the presenter, identified in the meeting only as the company’s surface-water director) described a modular system that sits on a floating barge and recirculates lagoon water through a device that injects very small oxygen- or ozone-laden bubbles. The presenter said those “nanobubbles” lack buoyancy and carry a charge that lets them remain in the water column and at the sediment–water interface longer than conventional aeration systems, which the company says helps stop nutrients from releasing from bottom sediments.
The company proposed installing a single system able to treat an estimated 500–1,000 acres from one treatment point and said it would deliver results “within the first weeks to months,” including higher dissolved oxygen at the bottom, improved water clarity and “a dramatic reduction in organic sediments,” based on case studies it cited in Satellite Beach, Lake Elsinore, Minnnesota, Wisconsin and South Africa. The presenter offered a project prescription based on bathymetry and local circulation, and said permitting would typically include FDEP and possibly U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approvals.
Council members questioned technical limits, costs and who would pay. The presenter said an installed system would cost roughly $2 million to $2.5 million and that ongoing operating costs would be “about $150,000 to $200,000 a year,” mostly electricity and service. He said the system uses shore power via an underground cable and typically takes about a week to deploy from a boat ramp. On permitting timelines, the presenter called a 30-day turnaround “potentially a little optimistic” but said he had not encountered a permit refusal in his experience and planned a more detailed permit list for the city.
Council and public speakers discussed funding pathways rather than committing city money. Vice Mayor Cole noted state lagoon funds and testified to a county-level fund balance he said was $428 million. Council members and public commenters, including environmental volunteers, urged the city to pursue grants, FDEP innovation funding and partnerships with county and regional stakeholders before taking on direct capital obligations.
Public comment included local residents who said water clarity and fishing had recently declined and encouraged the council to test new technologies. Lorelei Thompson, a resident who said she weekly-tests lagoon water, told the council the technology “could be a game changer for the Indian River Lagoon” and urged Titusville to consider piloting the approach.
City staff and the presenter agreed to provide more detailed permitting, monitoring and cost data for council review and to discuss potential partnerships and grant options; councilors did not authorize construction or spending at the meeting.
Why it matters: parts of the Indian River Lagoon experience recurring low-oxygen, harmful-algae and muck conditions that affect recreation, fisheries and shoreline property. The council’s next steps will determine whether Titusville pursues a pilot, seeks state or regional funding, or declines the approach.
