Converted
10-16-2003, 12:55 PM
The plan to draw down an Osceola County lake could raise the level of Lake Okeechobee by up to 7 inches.
By Suzanne Wentley staff writer
October 16, 2003
An environmental project that will dump more than 30 billion gallons of water from a Central Florida lake into Lake Okeechobee is still scheduled for next month, despite concerns from St. Lucie River advocates that the project will further damage local waterways.
The plan to draw down Lake Tohopekaliga in Osceola County -- which could raise the level of the swollen Lake Okeechobee by up to 7 inches -- was originally set to begin Nov. 1.
But recent dry weather has lowered the lakes in the upper Kissimmee River Valley, meaning the drawdown will take less time and can begin a few weeks later, water managers said.
"No decision has been made not to do the drawdown," said Tommy Strowd, director of water operations for the South Florida Water Management District. "From an operational standpoint, it's on."
Many members of the Rivers Coalition and the St. Lucie River Initiative had presumed that the restoration effort would be postponed after state legislators vowed to fight the $8 million project and save the funding for a drier time.
The Nine-County Coalition, consisting of elected officials from counties around Lake Okeechobee, passed another resolution on Monday against the Tohopekaliga project.
But representatives from the three agencies involved with the plans -- the water management district, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Army Corps of Engineers -- said they will only stop the project if it would cause significant harm to the downstream ecosystem.
With "pulse"-style releases from Lake Okeechobee likely for the next four to six months, Strowd said the extra water from the drawdown would not increase the damage to the estuary.
Pulse-style releases are better for the estuary than continuous discharges, which flowed into the St. Lucie River for seven weeks this summer.
But because the river is already in poor condition, Kevin Henderson, executive director of the St. Lucie River Initiative, strongly disagreed with Strowd.
"Everybody acts like pulse releases don't count, and that's not true," he said. "Considering how high the lake has been for the past six months and the condition of the lake and the estuaries, it seems completely irresponsible to proceed with a drawdown like this.
"It shows that, despite all the lip service, the agencies don't care much about what happens to the estuary and the lake."
On Wednesday, Lake Okeechobee stood at 16.96 feet above sea level --almost 3 1/2 feet higher than river advocates would like to see it before the beginning of the next rainy season. A low lake makes discharges, which disrupt the salinity balance in the estuary, less likely.
Mike Hulon, a biological administrator with the wildlife commission, said the recent dry spell has made more room available for water storage in Lakes Kissimmee, Cypress, Hatchenehaw and Tohopekaliga -- all of which must be drained in order to keep the northernmost lake, Tohopekaliga, low enough to remove excess vegetation choking its ecosystem.
He said the project could be put on hold if heavy rain washes out the dry season, which -- along with a political outcry -- is what stopped the project last February.
"Nobody is trying to destroy the estuaries," Hulon said. "We're just trying to do the right thing and let the science play its course."
Paul Gray, a River Coalition member and scientist with Audubon of Florida, said the state scientists can do better.
"I just can't believe with these systems in such dire straits that they're doing something that's in their control to make things worse," Gray said. "All three of these agencies should know better than this."
By Suzanne Wentley staff writer
October 16, 2003
An environmental project that will dump more than 30 billion gallons of water from a Central Florida lake into Lake Okeechobee is still scheduled for next month, despite concerns from St. Lucie River advocates that the project will further damage local waterways.
The plan to draw down Lake Tohopekaliga in Osceola County -- which could raise the level of the swollen Lake Okeechobee by up to 7 inches -- was originally set to begin Nov. 1.
But recent dry weather has lowered the lakes in the upper Kissimmee River Valley, meaning the drawdown will take less time and can begin a few weeks later, water managers said.
"No decision has been made not to do the drawdown," said Tommy Strowd, director of water operations for the South Florida Water Management District. "From an operational standpoint, it's on."
Many members of the Rivers Coalition and the St. Lucie River Initiative had presumed that the restoration effort would be postponed after state legislators vowed to fight the $8 million project and save the funding for a drier time.
The Nine-County Coalition, consisting of elected officials from counties around Lake Okeechobee, passed another resolution on Monday against the Tohopekaliga project.
But representatives from the three agencies involved with the plans -- the water management district, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Army Corps of Engineers -- said they will only stop the project if it would cause significant harm to the downstream ecosystem.
With "pulse"-style releases from Lake Okeechobee likely for the next four to six months, Strowd said the extra water from the drawdown would not increase the damage to the estuary.
Pulse-style releases are better for the estuary than continuous discharges, which flowed into the St. Lucie River for seven weeks this summer.
But because the river is already in poor condition, Kevin Henderson, executive director of the St. Lucie River Initiative, strongly disagreed with Strowd.
"Everybody acts like pulse releases don't count, and that's not true," he said. "Considering how high the lake has been for the past six months and the condition of the lake and the estuaries, it seems completely irresponsible to proceed with a drawdown like this.
"It shows that, despite all the lip service, the agencies don't care much about what happens to the estuary and the lake."
On Wednesday, Lake Okeechobee stood at 16.96 feet above sea level --almost 3 1/2 feet higher than river advocates would like to see it before the beginning of the next rainy season. A low lake makes discharges, which disrupt the salinity balance in the estuary, less likely.
Mike Hulon, a biological administrator with the wildlife commission, said the recent dry spell has made more room available for water storage in Lakes Kissimmee, Cypress, Hatchenehaw and Tohopekaliga -- all of which must be drained in order to keep the northernmost lake, Tohopekaliga, low enough to remove excess vegetation choking its ecosystem.
He said the project could be put on hold if heavy rain washes out the dry season, which -- along with a political outcry -- is what stopped the project last February.
"Nobody is trying to destroy the estuaries," Hulon said. "We're just trying to do the right thing and let the science play its course."
Paul Gray, a River Coalition member and scientist with Audubon of Florida, said the state scientists can do better.
"I just can't believe with these systems in such dire straits that they're doing something that's in their control to make things worse," Gray said. "All three of these agencies should know better than this."