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December 29, 2016
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Recently, TCPalm printed a guest column that grossly misrepresented SFWMD's motivations and stance on key issues related to Lake Okeechobee. Whether you are a company president, co-founder of an organization or former mayor, one should educate themselves on statements issued by SFWMD instead of fabricating conclusions to fit a fantastical narrative. This column is a clear-cut case of an author whose credibility has been compromised. Below are the assertions made, accompanied by SFWMD facts.
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HERE ARE THE FACTS:
- STATEMENT: "[T]he National Academy of Sciences opined we need a new Lake Okeechobee Regulation Schedule right now. The South Florida Water Management District immediately rejected the idea, reporting it would halt ongoing projects and delay restoration."
FACT: SFWMD issued a statement on Dec. 15 about the biennial report on Everglades restoration progress developed by a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine committee. The statement disagreed with the conclusion that future Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) projects should stop in order to reassess the whole program. The statement made no mention of the lake regulation schedule.
To be clear, the SFWMD Governing Board has long advocated - and continues to support - revising the lake regulation schedule. In fact, the Governing Board passed a resolution in July requesting Congress direct the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to store more water in the lake once repairs to the Herbert Hoover Dike are complete to help stop the devastating discharges to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers and estuaries.
- STATEMENT: "Depending on whose modeling you believe, the water management district has already shown storage south of Lake O is three times as effective as northern storage at reducing estuarine dumps."
FACT: The University of Florida Water Institute's 2015 study called for 1 million acre-feet of additional storage north and south of Lake Okeechobee. The District added some storage capacity to the south in late 2015 with completion of the A-1 Flow Equalization Basin. Another 200,000 acre-feet of storage is planned in the Central Everglades Planning Project, which was recently authorized by Congress. Scientific analyses show the logical location for the next increment of water storage is north of the lake. Northern storage would provide more operational flexibility and increase the benefits from existing and planned southern storage features.
- STATEMENT: "The water management district has proven the stormwater treatment areas clean up Lake O water better than they clean up EAA drainage."
FACT: As the column stated, the Stormwater Treatment Areas (STAs) were designed to treat basin runoff from various sources to reduce nutrient levels in water entering the Everglades. As capacity becomes available, the STAs can accept water from Lake Okeechobee as long as it will not negatively affect their ability to meet state and federal water quality standards.
In recent years, STA performance has continued to improve while treating higher volumes of lake water than ever. However, there is no evidence that the STAs clean water from the lake better than from other sources. Multiple factors contribute to STA performance, including increased experience by SFWMD scientists in managing the treatment wetlands, implementation of Best Management Practices upstream and construction and operation of Restoration Strategies projects such as the A-1 FEB.
- STATEMENT: "A new schedule could run the lake at a lower average elevation."
FACT: Most advocates for revising the regulation schedule, including SFWMD, have called for raising the schedule. Without adequate storage to the north to resupply the lake for environmental and water supply purposes, holding lake levels lower would have detrimental environmental and water supply consequences, especially in dry or drought years.
- STATEMENT: "The Herbert Hoover Dike is threatened by high lake levels allowed by the 2008 schedule."
FACT: The Lake Okeechobee Regulation Schedule 2008 replaced the Water Supply and Environment Schedule, lowering the schedule to reduce risk to the Herbert Hoover Dike, improve lake ecology and lessen the likelihood of damaging discharges to the coastal estuaries.
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The South Florida Water Management District
is a regional governmental agency that manages the water resources in the southern part of the state. It is the oldest and largest of the state's five water management districts. Our mission is to protect South Florida's water resources by balancing and improving flood control, water supply, water quality and natural systems.
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