Concerns over Lake Okeechobee discharges underscore need for Everglades restoration

Concerns over Lake Okeechobee discharges underscore need for Everglades restoration

PEMBROKE PARK – Communities on both Florida coasts are bracing for impact as they monitor the billions of gallons of water being discharged by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from Lake Okeechobee since mid-February.

The discharges flow east to the St. Lucie River and west to the Caloosahatchee River, to alleviate the higher-than-normal water levels caused by one very wet dry season fueled by El Nino. But as the outflows increase, so do the fears of red tide and other harmful algae blooms.

“Because of these releases we’re seeing a really high amount of tannic water which is brown tea-colored water, that’s making its way into the estuary,” explained Codty Pierce, Chief Waterkeeper for Calusa Waterkeeper.

The polluted water is laden with fertilizer runoff from Central Florida farmland and other sources of dangerous nutrients north of the lake such as septic contamination.