Florida’s coasts are bracing for what could be another devastating environmental disaster, as Lake Okeechobee discharges began earlier this week. The United States Army Corps of Engineers announced that it would begin releasing high-volumes of nutrient laden Lake O water to Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie Rivers (4,000 and 1,600 cfs, respectively), which poses a huge threat to these communities and ecosystems.
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Theses discharges are largely due to the high lake levels, which should have been avoided but was, unfortunately, not. According to Col. James Booth, USACE’s Jacksonville District Commander, “The intent behind the pending releases is to move as much water as possible out of Lake Okeechobee, before the beginning of oyster spawning, before the start of blue green algal blooms on the lake, and before the start of the wet season.”
However, the problem remains: billions of gallons of polluted, nutrient loaded water will inundate already struggling estuaries and likely have a harmful effect on the estuarine fisheries, habitats, and all the dependent communities.
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Captains for Clean Water’s message was simple: “This is really frustrating news, situations like these are why we founded CFCW in the first place—to put an end to the damaging discharges that wreak havoc on our ecosystem, our communities, and our economy. Restoring the natural flow of water south, through Everglades restoration, is still the solution to this ongoing crisis. And although we’ve seen a lot of progress in recent years, there’s still a lot of work left to do to get critical projects, like the EAA Reservoir, to the finish line.”
We’ll be following the potential impacts of these discharges over the coming months and hoping that these sensitive coasts can weather the effects. But, we also know groups like Captains for Clean Water will be on the ground monitoring these impacts and will activate the community when, or if, the time comes. If you want to learn more about South Florida’s water issues and the solutions, be sure to check out Captains for Clean Water!
