Draft Water Control Plan for Lake O discussed
The Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation reported that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers held a meeting on July 24 regarding the recently released draft of the Water Control Plan for the Lake Okeechobee Systems Operating Manual (LOSOM). The document will dictate how the Corps and South Florida Water Management District decide when and how to release water from the lake.
SCCF joined conservation partners, tribal leaders, local governments, agriculture representatives, environmentalists and other concerned stakeholders to listen to theCorps’ presentation and to voice concerns they have with the draft.
“The current Water Control Plan draft represents what SCCF’s modeling found to be the most equitable distribution of water among all stakeholders,” Environmental Policy Director Matt DePaolis said. “Hopefully, when LOSOM is underway, we will see fewer damaging discharges to the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie estuaries.”
The SCCF noted that despite fewer damaging discharges under this model, the releases to the Caloosahatchee will likely be larger than those the area has previously experienced.
“By saving up the water and allowing it to flow out all at once, it will be similar to ripping off a band-aid, and hopefully conditions in the estuary will return to optimal much sooner,” he said.
The SCCF reported that the plan is not without its faults, and many concerns were voiced at the meeting. One major concern is that the proposed plan will hold the lake higher than previous manuals had, potentially harming the ecosystems within the lake. DePaolis provided comments for the SCCF that were generally supportive of the plan and LOSOM as a whole.
He pointed out that the impact lake releases have on red tide — not just blue-green algal blooms — should be mentioned explicitly within the plan. DePaolis also expressed concern that some of the examples used to determine when the system is at risk of entering the Water Shortage Management Band are too protective of agricultural interests, while potentially risking necessary flows to the Caloosahatchee.
“However, it is great to see in writing that water supply also means water for the environment, the northern estuaries, and the Everglades,” he said.
LOSOM is set to go into effect in December. The Corps is waiting for a final biological opinion from the National Marine Fisheries Service to determine the effects of LOSOM on red tide and the potential impact to sea turtles.
“While it’s unfortunate that LOSOM hasn’t been able to be enacted sooner, it is important that we understand the full ramifications of this plan before it goes into effect for the next decade,” DePaolis said.