The Canal Street cove is a man-made feature that was created from spoil material used to fill shoreline areas during the first part of this century, as was the coastal development practice at the time. As part of these activities, concrete sheetpile seawalls were constructed on the longer north and south sides of the cove, and along the short west side. In the existing configuration, water from the drainage system discharges through the west seawall into the cove, which is open to Mosquito Lagoon (a.k.a. Indian River North at this location) on the east end of the cove, and is confined by the seawalls on the north and south sides. The total length of the canal in the west to each direction is approximately 470 feet, and the width is approximately 70 feet. On September 15, 1992, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded Cetacean Logic Foundation, Inc., a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, a contract as part of the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program to construct an innovative stormwater treatment facility in the Canal Street cove. The treatment facility, as proposed, was to include a settling basin, a small area of planted wetland vegetation, and a small sand filter. Most of the treatment was anticipated to occur in the larger settling basin, with the wetland area and the sand filter intended primarily to provide the public with examples of alternative stormwater management practices, through some treatment was anticipated. The entire facility was proposed to be constructed within the limits of the three walls of the Canal Street cove. Because of the severely altered condition of the naturally occurring benthic and shoreline habitat at this location and the fact that there was no obvious living community present, the Canal Street cove was considered by the agencies that provided comment on the concept as a good location for an 'in-river' treatment system.