EDITORIAL: Lake O update – We made a difference!
Over the past several months many of you joined me in voicing our displeasure with the future management plan for Lake Okeechobee, known as LOSOM. Last spring, the Army Corps of Engineers offered a plan that would have increased damaging discharges to the Caloosahatchee River, which would have had detrimental effects to our water quality in Southwest Florida.
This plan would have resulted in consecutive months of continuous damaging discharges as the Corps utilized the Caloosahatchee River as the only major outlet for Lake Okeechobee releases.
Together, we pushed back. Lee County united like never before. We built coalitions with Lee County’s municipalities, our neighboring counties, and numerous groups throughout the region to advocate for a balanced plan that did not have our coast receiving the vast majority of harmful discharges. With your help, we made our message clear – we must see improvements in how the Army Corps manages Lake Okeechobee. The good news is that our message was heard loud and clear. We made a difference!
On November 16 the Army Corps released its selected operation plan for the Lake Okeechobee System Operations Manual (LOSOM). In the plan, the Caloosahatchee achieves a 27 percent decrease in the number of days where we will be burdened with harmful Lake Okeechobee discharges. We also see a 12 percent improvement in the number of days where we meet the minimum flows needed to maintain a healthy estuary. This 12 percent improvement is on top of the 82 percent improvement that we will achieve upon completion of the C-43 Reservoir. This will be an extremely significant benefit to the health of the Caloosahatchee and our estuary.
The process is not yet finished but I remain cautiously optimistic that we are now on the right track. Over the next six months, the Army Corps will be writing the operations manual, which will provide more guidance on how the system is managed. The written guidance for how the Corps will implement that selected plan could lead to increased benefits to the Caloosahatchee or the loss of some of the performance that the selected plan seems to be giving us. I will continue to keep you updated as this process unfolds. We must remain vigilant through the end, but we have made significant progress to date. This is progress we would not have made without your support! Thank you for standing with me in the fight for our water quality.
Thank you again for your support, interest and vigilance.
Kevin Ruane is a Lee County Commissioner.
He can be reached at dist1@leegov.com.
