$30 million in State Funding to Help SPEED Lake Okeechobee Recovery

[Converted]

$30 million in State Funding to Help SPEED Lake Okeechobee Recovery;
Water Managers Create Special Committee
Florida Sen. Ken Pruitt to address Water Resources Advisory Commission
Thursday, June 2, at 1:30 p.m. at the Jupiter Beach Resort

Recognizing the urgent need to expedite recovery efforts for Lake Okeechobee, the state Legislature appropriated an additional $30 million for Lake Okeechobee Protection Plan projects this year. Florida Sen. Ken Pruitt will highlight the recent legislative actions and discuss additional plans for expediting projects to benefit the lake at the South Florida Water Management District’s Water Resources Advisory Commission meeting, Thursday, June 2, at 1:30 p.m. at the Jupiter Beach Resort in Jupiter.

“With strong support from Gov. Jeb Bush and the Florida Legislature, I am confident that the South Florida Water Management District and its many partners will work quickly to put this money to good use,” said Pruitt. “The future of the lake depends on decisive action now!”

Last year’s multiple hurricanes and associated heavy rainfall churned up sediment and increased the amount of stormwater entering the lake. This resulted in persistent poor water quality, murky water and high water levels that are endangering the ecological health of the lake. Submerged plants, which provide oxygen and habitat for fish, are vanishing because sunlight cannot penetrate the mud-colored water. Algae blooms are also of major concern.

The South Florida Water Management District is establishing a special Water Resources Advisory Commission (WRAC) committee to recommend actions to expedite collaborative Lake Okeechobee recovery efforts. “While this action is not an overnight quick fix for the lake, it will help us complete needed projects as fast as possible,” said District Governing Board Member and WRAC Chair Michael Collins.

Committee members will be recommended for approval at the June 8 Governing Board meeting in Miami. The first monthly WRAC Lake Okeechobee Committee meeting will be Thursday, June 30, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at South Florida Water Management District headquarters in West Palm Beach.

The new Lake Okeechobee Committee will:

Review Lake Okeechobee Protection Plan projects to recommend improvements and action steps to speed current project implementation; and
Review operational schedules for Lake Okeechobee, its tributary basins and lakes, and connecting estuaries. Operational improvements will also be recommended for Governing Board consideration.
Additional background
The Lake Okeechobee Protection Plan is a comprehensive, interagency plan designed to restore and protect the lake by improving water quality and implementing long-term solutions through specific components designed to reduce the amount of phosphorus entering the lake from internal and external sources. For more information, visit http://www.sfwmd.gov then click “Okeechobee” followed by the “Lake Okeechobee Protection Plan” link.

For more information about the Water Resources Advisory Commission and June 2 meeting agenda, visit http://www.sfwmd.gov/gover/wrac/main.html


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[duckmanJR]

I just read today that lake O was at 13.98..two full feet below the 15.98 average. I'm sure the rains of the last two days will change that but I hope that the lower level helped some.

[uncle D]

I just read that a Federal judge has found that Federal and State agencies have violated the 1992 Everglades restoration/cleanup settlement by allowing excessive amounts phosphorus into the Everglades and by not meeting deadline of a Stormwater treatment facility.

For what it is worth.

Duke