Converted
06-29-2005, 09:37 PM
We had the initial meeting in what will be a series that will last years. Hopefully the product of this committee will last generations.
First order of business was for all comittee members to introduce themselves and give a brief bio. There was then a discussion about what the product of the committee will be. A technical advisory sub committee will be formed to give historic and current lake conditions analysis. We look to have a report from that group in 60-90 days.
After lunch Dr Susan Gray, SFWMD Director, Lake Okeechobee gave a presentation on long and short term strategies for Lake Restoration. In the question and answer session I asked about the reasons for the spraying on the NW areas of the lake last week. I had called the district staff previously and understood that the Corp was behind the spraying. Mrs. Mary Ann Martin (Roland's wife) who is the only other member of the committee representing the recreational users also jumped on this subject and was quite passionate about the detremental effects of some of these spraying programs. Part of the problem is that the crews on the ground do not know exactly what they are to be spraying. The Corp representatives vowed to get to the bottom of the problem. The district vegetation control staff must have been watching on the closed circuit feed and soon were in the room to answer questions. Barry Rosen, USFWS pointed out that his department had witnessed snail kite nests in areas that had been sprayed. In the end, we raised enough of a fuss that chairman Mike Collins directed staff to prepare a presentation for the next meeting. I made the point that after the devestating effects of the hurricanes that the only clean water in the lake was in the marshes. It seemed that even if these programs were designed to control exotics, it may be prudent in the short term to leave these plants for their beneficial properties for water quality and fish and wildlife.
The next presentation was to explain the regulation schedule that dictates how discharges are made from the lake. You may recall that we (UW-F) advocated for a temporary devation from that schedule to help keep water levels lower. Many portions of that temporary devation have now been incorporated into the current regulation schedule. I still have problems with the schedule but all ageed that it is exponentually better than the old regulation.
Next we were given current status reports of the Lake and the watershed in addition to the remainder of the district. It was given by Bob Howard, Director Lake Operations and informally titled "Why you wouldn't want to be me" Here are some interesting facts:
This is the highest the lake has been in June since 1942 and the 4th highest June level ever.
The district has received 14.49 inches of rain in June, 191% of normal
The upper Kissimmee has received 14.09 inches, 214% of normal
Big cypress and the WCA's have received 19.53", 223% of normal
As of today the lake is over 15.8' and Zone C continuous flood control discharges to tide will begin tomorrow. No water can go south because the WCA's are already over their regulation schedules. The lakes along the Kissimmee chain will also continue to discharge water to Lake O because they are all over their regulation schedules as well. Even with 7500 cubic feet per second of water leaving the the lake, stages are expected to continue to rise because inflows are about 9500cfs. The St lucie estuary is on the verge of colapse but there are no options at this point.
We got off to a good start but we have a long long way to go. The long term solutions will be a boom to duck hunters just like the rest of CERP is. There will be large STA's and water storage sites north, east, and west of the lake as well as the existing and proposed STA's to the south. Your VOICE will continue to be expressed in the formulation of these plans :icon_salu
First order of business was for all comittee members to introduce themselves and give a brief bio. There was then a discussion about what the product of the committee will be. A technical advisory sub committee will be formed to give historic and current lake conditions analysis. We look to have a report from that group in 60-90 days.
After lunch Dr Susan Gray, SFWMD Director, Lake Okeechobee gave a presentation on long and short term strategies for Lake Restoration. In the question and answer session I asked about the reasons for the spraying on the NW areas of the lake last week. I had called the district staff previously and understood that the Corp was behind the spraying. Mrs. Mary Ann Martin (Roland's wife) who is the only other member of the committee representing the recreational users also jumped on this subject and was quite passionate about the detremental effects of some of these spraying programs. Part of the problem is that the crews on the ground do not know exactly what they are to be spraying. The Corp representatives vowed to get to the bottom of the problem. The district vegetation control staff must have been watching on the closed circuit feed and soon were in the room to answer questions. Barry Rosen, USFWS pointed out that his department had witnessed snail kite nests in areas that had been sprayed. In the end, we raised enough of a fuss that chairman Mike Collins directed staff to prepare a presentation for the next meeting. I made the point that after the devestating effects of the hurricanes that the only clean water in the lake was in the marshes. It seemed that even if these programs were designed to control exotics, it may be prudent in the short term to leave these plants for their beneficial properties for water quality and fish and wildlife.
The next presentation was to explain the regulation schedule that dictates how discharges are made from the lake. You may recall that we (UW-F) advocated for a temporary devation from that schedule to help keep water levels lower. Many portions of that temporary devation have now been incorporated into the current regulation schedule. I still have problems with the schedule but all ageed that it is exponentually better than the old regulation.
Next we were given current status reports of the Lake and the watershed in addition to the remainder of the district. It was given by Bob Howard, Director Lake Operations and informally titled "Why you wouldn't want to be me" Here are some interesting facts:
This is the highest the lake has been in June since 1942 and the 4th highest June level ever.
The district has received 14.49 inches of rain in June, 191% of normal
The upper Kissimmee has received 14.09 inches, 214% of normal
Big cypress and the WCA's have received 19.53", 223% of normal
As of today the lake is over 15.8' and Zone C continuous flood control discharges to tide will begin tomorrow. No water can go south because the WCA's are already over their regulation schedules. The lakes along the Kissimmee chain will also continue to discharge water to Lake O because they are all over their regulation schedules as well. Even with 7500 cubic feet per second of water leaving the the lake, stages are expected to continue to rise because inflows are about 9500cfs. The St lucie estuary is on the verge of colapse but there are no options at this point.
We got off to a good start but we have a long long way to go. The long term solutions will be a boom to duck hunters just like the rest of CERP is. There will be large STA's and water storage sites north, east, and west of the lake as well as the existing and proposed STA's to the south. Your VOICE will continue to be expressed in the formulation of these plans :icon_salu