Lake Okeechobee Releases: Sorting Facts from Fiction

Article Posted on February 29, 2024
Note: It is our goal at One Martin to provide reliable, fact-based information so citizens can be better informed about our government and community.
 
Here We Go Again.
 
It’s happening again. Lake Okeechobee releases ordered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE). Uproar over the discharges is understandable. Everyone agrees that large amounts of water discharged from Lake O are harmful to the Indian River Lagoon and the St. Lucie River.  As one of the most biodiverse estuaries in North America, no one around here wants to see this happening – including us at One Martin.

While there’s no dispute that the releases carry with them too much fresh water and sediment that contains nitrogen and phosphorous that can cause algae blooms, I can’t help but get frustrated that people want to continue to blame agriculture for the necessity for the releases and the nutrients in the releases.   

We believe in facts and here are a few to consider.

The ACOE hosts public scientist calls every few weeks to hear from other agency staff and local governments about the management of Lake O. Back in June of last year, the Jacksonville District Commander announced their Lake Okeechobee Wet Season Strategy.  And since last fall, it’s been clear that releases would be needed because of the effects of El Nino – a weather pattern that brings cooler temperatures and more rain to our region.  Since November of 2023, this El Nino pattern has resulted in higher-than-average rainfall for the Lower Kissimmee Basin, Lake Okeechobee, and Martin and St. Lucie basins.

Several agency scientists and other advocates recommended beginning low-level releases last November so high releases might be avoided this spring.  Martin County residents, however, insisted that the Corps NOT release Lake O water.  So, the Corps catered to the estuary interests on both coasts and gave our community what we asked for, which was no releases at all in Martin County.  

While this may seem like a good thing, it was not.  We could have and should have released the water last year, in a limited manner, when it would have hurt us less.

Of note is that the Corps keeps a ledger of how much water remained in the Lake instead of being released at lower rates during a time of year that would have less negative impact on the estuaries. During the scientist call two weeks ago, the Corps said it held back 840,000 acre-feet of water since last summer. That’s almost two feet on the Lake!

So instead of the Corps releasing Lake O water slowly this winter when the St. Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon could have tolerated it better, we are now faced with the prospect of very high releases during the most sensitive time for our estuary.

The unfortunate situation we now find ourselves in is a result of river “advocates” who ignored the recommendations of scientists, put pressure on the Corps not to release any water last year, and then the Corps caving in to that political pressure. The Corps gambled, and this time we all may lose big time.  But the enemy is not agriculture.  Crops, farms, ranches, pastures, and the Everglades itself are all inundated with water, too. Because when it rains, it falls – and our system fails all of us.

Sincerely, 



Rick Hartman
 
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