Advocates worry about Lake Okeechobee water releases

Huge amounts of water are being released from Lake Okeechobee down to the Caloosahatche River.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says the lake is too high and needs to be lowered before the rainy season, hurricane season and algae bloom season.

The situation is similar to one that happened eight years ago.

“We’re in a very similar situation now to what we were in in 2016,” said the co-founder of Captains for Clean Water, Daniel Andrews.

In 2016, Florida was in an El Niño weather cycle with an abnormally rainy dry season and dangerously high Lake Okeechobee.

Today, Florida is in a similar situation.

Lake Okeechobee is currently at 16.3 feet, in 2016 the lake was at 16.19 feet.

Andrews said the Army Corps of Engineers started dumping large volumes of water packed with nutrients.

Adding nutrient-treated water and the existing threat of low-level red tide was like adding fuel to a fire.

“That was really why we started the organization,” said Andrews, “just that feeling of frustration and anger and just heartbreak to see something you love destroyed.”

In 2018, Andrews became an environmental advocate and the co-founder of Captains for Clean Water.

The increased risk of red tide is one of the reasons advocates worry about the upcoming releases.

Andrews recognizes that the lake must be lowered before the rainy, hurricane and peak algae seasons.

“Unfortunately, until we have Everglades restoration infrastructure in place, this is the only choice the corps has to be able to discharge,” said Andrews.

That means making the Everglades function like they used to by tearing down barriers so it can flow south safely. It will cost us, however.

“Just in the three-county region here in Southwest Florida, one major event has a greater financial impact on Southwest Florida than all of Everglades restoration costs,” said Andrews.