POLLUTION SOLUTION: Governor announces project regarding Lake O
Gov. Rick Scott announced a $90 million environmental project last week to ease the flow of freshwater releases into Southwest Florida.
Speaking in Centennial Park in Fort Myers, Scott said the state would invest $30 million per year over three years to raise 2.6-miles of Tamiami Trail in the Everglades. The higher elevation will allow fresh water to be released south into the Everglades without the possibility of flooding the highway.
The project will be through the Florida Department of Transportation, bringing the state’s share of the $180 million cost for the 2.6 miles of bridging to the $90 million committed. Scott said other things are being done to protect the state’s estuaries as well.
“The state is doing the right thing. They are teaming up with the private sector and farms and doing things on public lands to store water so we can reduce this flow from Lake Okeechobee,” said Scott.
He also pointed out that the federal government owes the State of Florida $1.6 billion in investments under a 50/50 cost sharing agreement. A lack of federal money has delayed repairs to the failing Herbert Hoover Dike System near Lake Okeechobee.
“They need to fix the dike, it’s their job and their responsibility. It’s the federal government’s responsibility to fix the dike,” said Scott.
Congressman Trey Radel, R-Southwest Florida, who serves on the Committee for Transportation and Infrastructure, said he is doing everything possible to secure federal funding for projects that protect water supplies.
“I will do everything I can to ensure I am fighting for the State of Florida and Southwest Florida to make sure we have a healthy environment, because at the end of the day, for us in Southwest Florida, a healthy environment means a healthy economy and jobs for all of us,” said Radel.
Although the raising of Tamiami Trail is a step forward in sending more water from Lake Okeechobee to the Everglades, local environmental officials agree it’s a minimal effort.
“Moving more water south is part of the solution and while it’s important, the amount of water that will be moved is a drop in the bucket,” said Jennifer Hecker, manager of Natural Resource Policy at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.
Hecker said Scott has only provided half of the Everglades restoration funds offered by his previous Republican counterparts.
She said approximately 210,000 acre/feet of water would be sent south but nearly one million acres needs to be moved to see a difference locally, leaving another 800,000 acre/feet of water.
The C-43 Reservoir Project would have a more a significant impact on Southwest Florida, by diverting an additional 200,000 acres, but the federal government has yet to authorize the funding to begin construction. Local environmental officials are hoping the U.S. House authorizes the project by Sept. 16.
Even though C-43 would stagger the freshwater releases into this region, Hecker said current plans for the reservoir have it only storing the water and not treating, meaning an algae bloom could develop in the stagnant water.
Alexis Meyer, local organizer for The Sierra Club, described the highway project as a first step.
“It’s a good first step, but many other things need to be done,” she said. “It’s impacting businesses and our lifestyles. Tourism is our lifeblood in Florida.”
She said there needs to be more regulation put on the companies who cause polluted waters, regulation on water quality, and getting the state to purchase the 180,000 acres of the Everglades Agricultural Area before the option expires in October.
Judah speaks at Coastal Estuaries in Peril event
Poor water quality is not only a danger for marine life, but the Southwest Florida economy as well.
That was the message delivered to the island communities Monday, Aug. 26, at the Coastal Estuaries in Peril panel at Tween’ Waters Inn on Captiva Island. Ray Judah, former Lee County commissioner and current coordinator for the Florida Coastal and Ocean Coalition, moderated the panel to inform the public.
“There is a lot of deception and misinformation, and you’re going to get the truth tonight,” said Judah Monday night. “So, when you speak to your elected officials you’re going to know what you’re talking about.”
The problem of polluted water releases is complex and nuanced, and the solution isn’t as simple as diverting more water to the east coast or making improvements to failing treatment systems. The good news was that panelists presented a number of short- and long-term options to combat the problem.
Greg Rawl, vice-chairman of the Southwest Watershed Council, said this July was one of the wettest seasons on record and, as a result, more water was released from Lake Okeechobee. Daily flows varied throughout the summer, but last Friday they broke 15,000 cubic feet per second.
Not unlike the last wet season in 2005, released water crossed 11,000 acres of lakes and marshes to the 800,000-acre Caloosahatchee River Basin, carrying nitrogen and phosphorous in suspended solids that darkened the water. The result was algae blooms eating nutrients and oxygen, and killing off aquatic life, officials said.
Islanders had been rejoicing the end of the longest red tide period on record, from September to April, but now their concern is water quality. With recent heavy discharges, Rawl said Southwest Florida can expect other algae blooms in the near future. The east coast of Florida, on the other hand, has the advantage of the Gulf Stream, which filters discharges into the ocean.
There are so many nutrient deposits in Lake Okeechobee, said Rawl, that if releases suddenly stopped it would take an estimated 500 years to clear out. And just because a body of polluted water dries up, doesn’t mean the pollutants aren’t still lurking under the soil.
Jennifer Hecker, manager of Natural Resource Policy at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, said the algae are killing marine life. Since last January, the conservancy has documented more than 300 manatee deaths. Humans are also developing respiratory problems and cases of skin rashes have been reported. Scientists are also linking chronic exposure to these pollutants with nervous disorders, she said.
Rae Ann Wessel, director of Natural Resource Policy at the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation, said the system of dikes and treatment areas across the state pose a conundrum because they either release too much water or not enough.
“We find it nearly impossible to find that middle ground,” she said.
Historically, water from the lake had traveled south into the Everglades before merging with the Gulf of Mexico, but it was unnaturally rerouted east to St. Lucie and west to the Caloosahatchee. Local environmental officials are now asking the federal government to fast track the Central Everglades Planning Project, which would divert water back south and decrease the level of pollutants in the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries.
The diversion of water east and west accommodated the 700,000-acre Everglades Agricultural Area, a majority of which is used by U.S. Sugar. They are now asking that the EAA be reused for fresh water releases under one of two options: Governor Rick Scott declaring a State of Emergency and flooding the EAA agricultural fields, which are insured, or purchase U.S. Sugar-land through a three-year option that expires this October.
Although releases from Lake Okeechobee carry pollutants into Southwest Florida, local water supplies pose a threat as well. Our water shed needs 450,000 acres of storage and current projects only provide 250,000 acres. Completion of the C-43 Reservoir, outside of Alva, would provide additional storage space, but it’s just one piece of the puzzle, said Wessel.
Hecker said one of the reasons the state is in this predicament is the lack of measurable and enforceable water quality standards. This includes run-off from major agricultural companies and residential areas.
“Agricultural run-off is a source of nutrient pollution, but also the fertilizer we put on our lawns,” said Hecker.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency asked the State of Florida to develop water quality standards in 1998 but they were never finalized. The EPA later stepped in, but current water standards exempt 85 percent of Florida’s waters. They don’t include intermittent rivers, streams, canals, tidal waters, and others.
Under the current system, taxpayers are responsible for all of the costs of stopping polluted water, said Hecker, rather than the companies that dumped them in the first place. In 1996 a “polluters pay” constitutional amendment was approved by voters, but the Florida Legislature hasn’t imposed it, she said.
And what are the costs of polluted water? According to the panelists, 90 percent of the Southwest Florida economy is connected to local water. Besides tourists coming to the beach, tarpon fishing generates $108.6 million, artificial reefs generate $104.2 million, and Lee County has the second highest number of issued saltwater fishing licenses.
Jonathan Tongya, president of the Sanibel-Captiva Kiwanis Club, organized the Save Our Bay Rally near the Sanibel bridge on Saturday, Aug. 24, and said 500 people attended. Many of those protestors also attended The Sugarland Rally in Clewiston on Sunday, Sept. 1, from noon to 3 p.m.