SCCF reports on Army Corps signing LOSOM
On Aug. 12, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ South Atlantic Division commander signed a record of decision for the Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual, the final step in the approval process for LOSOM to replace the 2008 Lake Okeechobee Regulation Schedule (LORS08).
The Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation reported that the new water management plan will lower the number of damaging discharges to the Caloosahatchee and Gulf of Mexico, provide greater operational flexibility to water managers and, ultimately, send more water south to the Everglades and Florida Bay.
The SCCF has provided modeling, evaluation and commentary on LOSOM throughout the five-year development process to help ensure the plan equitably addressed Southwest Florida’s ongoing water quality issues and the resulting harmful algal blooms.
“LOSOM won’t solve all of our problems, but it will lower the number of damaging discharges, which transport massive amounts of polluted lake water into our estuarine ecosystems,” Environmental Policy Director Matt DePaolis said. “As more Everglades restoration projects come online, we will be able to worry less about the impact that Lake Okeechobee has on our coastal environment and focus more attention on cleaning up our own watershed.”
ABOUT LAKE RELEASES
The SCCF reported that in the late 1800s, in an effort to drain South Florida wetlands and provide a navigable boating route between Central and Southwest Florida, the Caloosahatchee River was artificially connected to Lake Okeechobee.
Today, freshwater flows from Lake Okeechobee are released into the Caloosahatchee according to an operating schedule managed by federal and state entities, including the Army Corps and South Florida Water Management District.
The flows from the lake can lead to altered salinity conditions in the estuary, increased nutrient concentrations and decreased light availability. These changes in water quality can negatively impact organisms in the estuary and Gulf. Important estuarine indicator species such as oysters and seagrass are especially sensitive to such changes.
ABOUT LOSOM
The SCCF reported that LOSOM is the manual that provides the criteria and guidelines that govern how, when and where water is released from Lake Okeechobee. It dictates the conditions necessary to release water into the Caloosahatchee River and Estuary, St. Lucie River and Estuary, Lake Worth Lagoon and the Central Everglades.
The regulation schedule authorizes the Army Corps to balance various water needs and determines the strategy to address the requirements of water supply, flood risk management, navigation and the environment, including the protection of fish and wildlife. It also is updated from LORS08 to include more projects in the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan.
Compared to the previous regulation schedule, LOSOM will provide greater operational flexibility to water managers and allow more opportunities for stakeholder input and engagement.
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