Editorial: A positive step forward for Lake Okeechobee’s future

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has made a good start toward determining which interests Lake Okeechobee will serve for the next few years.

The federal agency decides how high the lake will be and when to release water to protect the dike on the lake’s southern side. The Corps has released its “preliminary preferred alternative” for the Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual, known as LOSOM.

For decades, the priority had been to use the lake as a reservoir for farmers in the Everglades Agricultural Area. The Corps now has signaled a shift in that policy. To understand the significance of last week’s announcement, consider these reactions from environmental groups.

The Everglades Foundation is “delighted,” said chief science officer Steve Davis. Paul Gray, who holds a similar post with Audubon of Florida, hailed a “revolutionary decision in the effort to serve all environmental needs.”

Lisa Interlandi, executive director of the Everglades Law Center, called it “the best plan (for the Corps) to work with to optimize improvement for the entire system.”

Note that word, “optimize.” It reinforces the idea that the Corps’ action represents a starting point toward a future in which the Corps manages the lake in a way that helps as much of the region as possible.

Among five alternatives, the Corps chose what is known as Plan CC. It would especially reduce discharges of polluted lake water east — to the St. Lucie River estuary in Martin County. It also would benefit South Florida though to a lesser extent at the start.

As Gray told the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, however, this option involves “tradeoffs.” That would be the case with any option, given all of the many demands on the lake.

For one thing, Gray said, the option would increase discharges west through the Caloosahatchee River to the Gulf of Mexico. Unlike the St. Lucie, the Caloosahatchee needs some of that lake water — just not too much. Excessive western discharges also feed red tide, the algae blooms that have killed an estimated 800 tons of fish this year in the gulf.

Gray points to another problem. Under this plan, releases south from the lake, and away from the coastal estuaries that nurture marine life, would stop when the lake level hits 13 feet.

It is normal for the lake to get that low in the late spring, before the rainy season arrives. That’s when the Everglades, and Broward County communities that have wellfields in western areas, need fresh water the most. Water that doesn’t flow south would remain for farmers, but Gray’s research shows that crop yields stay the same even during drier times.

Between now and mid-October, the Corps of Engineers will run models to show how each option would perform for water supply. Interested groups likely will do the same on their own, and meetings with all parties are planned. After that, through late April, the Corps will study how each option would affect wildlife. The Fish and Wildlife Service will have a say. Final approval of a schedule won’t come until November 2022.

It will be quite a balancing act. The Corps has 10 objectives, including water supply, environmental restoration and navigation. The plan also must consider the Seminole Tribe of Florida, which has rights to that water. The Corps believes that of the five options, Plan CC comes the closest to meeting as many objectives as possible.

Not surprisingly, U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Stuart, favors the preferred option. It does the most to reduce discharges to the St. Lucie River, which has suffered so much in recent years when the lake level has risen and is in his congressional district.

Gray said, “There are no sea grasses” in the river now. The grasses are home to the fish and crabs that sustain local businesses, and the grasses take between four and five years to grow. The discharges haven’t allowed that.

At the same time, Gray said, the grasses that sustain marine life in the lake suffer when levels stay too high. Ideally, he said, the lake has 40,000 acres of grasses. The current number, however, is half that. Hurricane Irma in 2017 raised levels much higher, and that damage persists.

Farmers don’t like the preferred option because of the shift toward environmental protection. Palm Beach County and the towns surrounding the lake that have aligned themselves with the farmers will push back because water supply is their priority.

But helping the environment means helping the South Florida economy, all the way down to the Keys. South Florida will see even more benefits when all of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan projects are complete and more water can move south.

The Corps’ policy shift is overdue. We must treat Lake Okeechobee as the vital resource that it is.