Nicodemus Slough to store Lake Okeechobee excess water

GLADES COUNTY, Fla.- WINK News has an exclusive look at a new place for storing water and keeping it out of the Caloosahatchee River.

The Nicodemus Slough, near Moore Haven, will take nutrient-rich water from Lake Okeechobee, and keep that water out of the river.

Nicodemus Slough looks like any other pasture land in Southwest Florida. But, if you look closer, you’ll see excess water from Lake Okeechobee.

The South Florida Water Management District spent about $5 million to build berms, dig canals, and install large pumps at the slough.

The purpose is to store potentially polluted water there, and keep it out of the Caloosahatchee River.

“To me, this is truly amazing. To realize that just a couple weeks ago, this was dry pasture, and now it’s water, limiting that water going into the estuary,” said Phil Flood.

Water managers can store 11 billion gallons, on 20 square miles. The water district is leasing this land from Lykes Brothers Company for $2 million a year, for eight years.

When Lake Okeechobee runs high, as it is now, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has to send excess water into the Caloosahatchee River.

In the rainy summer of 2013, that meant massive releases of nutrient-rich water. It turned the river, brownish in color, and left bad impressions on visitors.

Storing water at the slough, should help to reduce the lake level by at least an inch or two. That’s not a lot, but the district is finding for other places to put lake water.

This slough is about 1/5 of the size of the C-43 reservoir planned for Hendry County. That reservoir has yet to be built.