Category Archives: aerial photos

Looking Up as Lake Okeechobee Crashes Down

November 25, 2024 at 1:29 PM. This aerial shows the St. Luice already darkened and tainted by run off and discharges from C-23 and C-24 due to a season of heavy rains. On December 7th the ACOE and SFWMD approved Lake Okeechobee discharges to the St. Lucie for RECOVER part of LOSOM. RECOVER began only three months after the new lake schedule that was to provide relief to the estuaries began…(Photo Ed Lippish)

I feel inclined to write…even though I am focusing on the Palm City book my mother and I just launched, and even though my husband Ed and I still have 1000 miles to complete on America’s Great Loop. I think I can provide insight in simple terms to a very confusing water management system.

So you may have heard that on December 7th, the Army Corps of Engineers started discharging to the St. Lucie River again. Yes, our federal and State government is once again killing the St. Lucie River. The explanations in the past have been disturbingly simple. This time it is not.

In August of this year, 2024, after five years of struggle, the Army Corps finally adopted a new schedule for Lake Okeechobee. This new schedule, referred to as LOSOM, allows for more water to be held in the lake and thus fewer discharges to the St. Lucie River. Ironically from the onset of negotiations, even though the destruction of the estuaries by Lake Okeechobee had been the focus, many were complaining about the health of the lake as when the lake is kept higher for longer periods of time, submerged aquatic vegetation dies off causing a host of problems. Mind you, that in 2013, 2016, and 2018 the St. Luice was so damaged by discharges from Lake Okeechobee it literally became a toxic soup -with little remaining seagrass- and it has yet to really recover.

Anyway, LOSOM has something called RECOVER which means a water body is set to recover from all of its government caused destruction if certain conditions are met. Right now the conditions are in place to RECOVER Lake Okeechobee. So now, the St. Lucie will be damaged to benefit Lake Okeechobee as approved by the South Florida Water Management District and approved and executed by the Army Corps of Engineers.

It’s a delicate balance, destroy one water body and then the other just enough to keep it alive. Well I must say “thanks” for the three months “under LOSOM.” It was great!

And where is our once hero Governor DeSantis in all of this (Executive Order 19-12) I guess right now Politics trumps Water Management or does it?

My advice? Don’t look down although this is so depressing and like groundhog day. Look up and fight for right. Water is sacred. Let’s manage it as such.

Here is the press release from the Army Corps explaining their position in scientific detail:

From: “Levario, Jazika CIV CESAJ” <Jazika.Levario@usace.army.mil>
Date: December 6, 2024 at 12:46:21 PM EST
Subject: Lake Okeechobee Recovery Operations Begin December 7

Release No.: NR 24-101 For Release: Dec 6,2024

Contact: Jacksonville District Public Affairs E-mail: publicmail.cesaj-cc@usace.army.mil

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Lake Okeechobee Recovery Operations Begin December 7

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) -Jacksonville District will begin releases under Lake Okeechobee Recovery Operations December 7.

For the past five years, Lake Okeechobee has experienced several storm events and extended moderately high lake stages. This has led to degraded ecological conditions within the lake, including significant loss of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), high turbidity and nutrient concentrations, and negative changes in emergent vegetation.

There are six considerations for implementing Recovery Operations – lake stage not receding below 13 feet in summer, SAV coverage significantly below 11,000 acres, no strong El Nino, nor strong La Niña forecasted for the dry season, lake stage not receding below 11 feet NGVD in the last five years, ecological and Snail Kite conditions, and no water supply concerns. Each of these six of the considerations have been met, and current projections show that conditions this dry season are favorable for success.

The goal of recovery is to lower lake levels before the onset of the wet season to allow for recovery of lake ecology, specifically SAV. The operational strategy for these operations intends to slowly bring water levels down by making moderate, non-harmful releases to the estuaries while also sending maximum beneficial flow south to the Everglades. Lowering water levels will allow light to penetrate to the bottom and allow SAV to regerminate and regrow during the April-July period. Regrowth of SAV in Lake Okeechobee will reduce water turbidity and nutrient concentrations. Improved water quality within the lake benefits the estuaries if significant releases are necessary in the coming seasons/years.

Consistent with the Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual (LOSOM), the maximum allowable releases under Recovery Operations are:

up to 2,100 cfs at S-79 to the Caloosahatchee River Estuary (CRE)
up to 1,400 cfs total St. Lucie Estuary (SLE) inflows (S-80 + S-97 + S-49 + Gordy Road)
up to 300 cfs to the Lake Worth Lagoon (LWL) at S-271 and S-352
up to maximum practicable south at S-351 and S-354

Releases will be made in the most beneficial way possible. USACE will continue to collaborate with South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) and other partners to evaluate flow and salinity to inform estuary releases on a weekly basis. Depending on conditions, releases will either be made as a pulse, or a constant flow targeted at S-80 and S-79. The releases allowed under Recovery Operations are within the RECOVER optimal flow envelope for the estuaries and will not impact oyster spawn, sea grass, spawning, or other ecological activities.

“We remain committed to communication, collaboration, and transparency with our partners, stakeholders, and the public throughout this process,” said Col. Brandon Bowman, Jacksonville District commander.

Flow south from the lake has started to increase significantly, as water supply demand has picked up early in this dry season. Flow south to the Everglades will occur based upon capacity of the state’s Stormwater Treatment Areas (STA’s) and the capacity of the Water Conservation Areas (WCA’s) to the south. The capacity of those will generally increase as we move through the dry season.

Exactly when and how much to release within limits will be based on the considerations including, but not limited to, coordination with stakeholders and partner agencies, current and historical lake levels, recession rates, climate outlooks, El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) forecasts, precipitation forecasts, drought conditions, water-supply conditions, and nesting activities and ecological conditions in the lake, Northern Estuaries, and the Greater Everglades. USACE is constantly monitoring the entire system, and the recovery releases and strategy can be discontinued at any time throughout the dry season if warranted.

-30-

Contact

Corporate Communications Office
904-232-2568
publicmail.cesaj-cc@usace.army.mil

Release no. 24-101

Jaz Levario

Public Affairs Specialist

Corporate Communications Office

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District Palm Beach Gardens

jazika.levario@usace.army.mil

Cell: 561-943-7678

Twitter @JaxStrong

Jacksonville District Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/JacksonvilleDistrict

“A History of Palm City’s” Inside Cover, by Nature’s Design

Perhaps the most wonderful part of my mom and my new book, “A Pictorial History of Palm City, Florida,” are the end papers, or inside cover.

In my option, nothing is more important than knowing the “original lay of the land.” We must never forget Nature’s handprint upon which we stand.

My brother, Todd – attorney and expert technology leader of EYEONLAKEO.com – created the images on the inside cover. They remind us of what Palm City looked like before it was developed- a veritable wildlife and fishing paradise (with maybe a few mosquitoes) 🙂

It’s beauty amazing!

We can see that Bessey Creek, Danforth Creek, wetlands, ponds and prairies dominate the landscape even years after development, farming and channelizing of waterways began: (basis -1940s+/- USDA/University of Florida Collection images/Todd Thurlow).

Click on image for a closer look at “pre-development” Palm City, this beautiful place we call home.

Todd, Jenny, Mom and my father in heaven, to whom this book is dedicated, hope to see you at next Thursday’s book launch and/or events listed below. Thank you for helping us make history!

Back inside cover featuring Bessey Creek. Photographs created by Todd Thurlow, Images from USDA/University of Florida Collection.

Front cover featuring St. Luice River near today’s Palm City Bridge.

A Pictorial History of Palm City, Florida

Thursday, November 21, 4-7pm “Book Launch/Celebration Party” at Palm City Social, 3168 SW Martin Downs Blvd., Palm City, FL 34990. Pre-signed books and unopened wrapped books will be available for purchase.

Saturday, December 7, 10am-3pm “Book Signing” at Stuart Heritage Museum, 161 SW Flagler Avenue, Stuart, FL 34994. Sandra and Jacqui will be available to inscribe a book or books as gifts or other.

Saturday, December 14, 1-4pm, “Book Signing” at Peter and Julie Cummings Library, 2551 SW Matheson, Ave. Palm City, FL 34990. Sandra and Jacqui will be available to inscribe a book or books as gifts or other.

Books run $39.95 for a single book and $399.50 for a box of ten book. Plus tax. 🙂

L.O. Discharge Aerial Update 3-4-24

Yesterday, March 4, 2024 around 11:00am, my husband Ed flew Captain’s for Clean Water videographer Noah Miller over the St. Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon. Noah and his community, on the west coast of South Florida, share in the adversity of Lake Okeechobee discharges. The Caloosahatchee is our sister river and has been for 100 years.

This year heavy discharges to the St. Lucie began February 17, 2024. There was a reprieve for four days, and then the discharges started again on Saturday, March 2nd. Thus these aerials were taken only two days after the estuary had a four day break from her killer. He let her catch her breath, and then it began again…

Today salinity is only 4.4 at the Roosevelt Bridge as documented by my brother Todd’s website eyeonlakeo!

Today, I am sharing some of the photographs that Ed took. There were 92 and I have paired them down; however, in many cases, especially the bare seagrass meadows, I have included multiple shots. I was also struck by the composition of the lands: Sewall’s Point, Hell’s Gate, Hutchinson Island, Stuart, Rocky Point, Jensen, Rio, Palm City, the St. Lucie Inlet State Park and the St. Lucie Inlet. A puzzle sculpted by time. Such a magnificent place! With the marriage of temperate and tropic zones, this area was once considered “the most bio-diverse estuary in North America,” as documented by famous fish scientists like Dr. Grant Gilmore. But over the years, especially since 2013, the St. Lucie has been ravaged by wretchedly dark polluted water from Lake Okeechobee and cyanobacteria known commonly as “toxic algae.”

When things seems hopeless or decades away, what can one do?

Continue to shine the light…

~Noah Miller of Captains for Clean Water takes video as Ed pilots the plane, a Van’s RV. ~Bird Island, below, sits off Sewall’s Point, with over 17 threatened/endangered species. This is nesting time but there is little food to feed the chicks.

Below are ACOE discharge release schedules. Discharges are determined by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in consultation with the South Florida Water Management District that acts as the “local sponsor” of the Central and South Florida Project both agencies manage. Years ago, there was little awareness or care about the destruction of the environment, but today we know better. The waste of fresh water into the ocean, the absolute carnage caused to the St. Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon, fish, benthic creatures, oysters, birds, mammals depending on food from it, not to mention the slow death caused to our near shore reefs–today this kind of water management is unacceptable. Try as we may for something better, we are not achieving it fast enough to leave future generations here anything but an empty cornucopia.

Beautiful Weather – Hideous Water

It is absolutely beautiful outside. There is not a cloud in the sky, humidity is low, the temperature is perfect, and for all the wading birds and fishes “spring has sprung.” They are excitedly searching for food, but there is little to be found. In the past week, salinity has dropped like a rock and a swift current of filth is pushing towards the St. Luice Inlet.

Boating? Are you kidding? I guess you can, but don’t let your kids swim in the water. Dive the nearshore reefs? I don’t think so!

These aerial photographs were taken just eight days after Lake Okeechobee discharges began into the St. Lucie River. The Army Corps of Engineers with the agreement of their local sponsor, the South Florida Water Management District, endorsed the high level discharges though S-80 to begin on 2-17-24.

Today’s photos were taken yesterday, 2-25-24, around 4pm, by Ed Lippisch and Jay Knobel. I am sharing all photographs for purposes of reference and documentation. The fight goes on as it has for 100 years. Shine the light.

Video

~FOLLOW ON Todd Thurlow’s website eyeonlakeo that now shows SALINITY.

~ACOE’s schedule to be repeated unless changed and reassessed each week. I am also including their announcement given to the people on Valentine’s Day.

Valentine’s Day Discharge Announcement

Yesterday, on Valentine’s Day, the estuaries did not receive sweet news. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, working to manage water together with their local sponsor, the South Florida Water Management District, announced that they will begin significant discharges (1800+/- cfs) from Lake Okeechobee (16.37 ft.) beginning Saturday, 2-17-24.

The aerials below taken by my husband, Ed Lippisch, on 2-14-24 around noon, 30 minutes before high tide, can serve as a baseline for comparison as our waters decline.

Presently, there is no representation on the South Florida Water Management District governing board as far as a traditional sitting Martin County representative. Appointed in 2019 by Governor DeSantis, I was removed in June 2023, really due to the power of the President of the Senate and those influencing her, for comments I made at a governing board meeting in February of 2022 in response to Senate Bill 2508, a bill undermining the District, water control, and the EAA Reservoir. In the the following months, I was not reappointed, as I could have been, by Governor DeSantis, nor was anyone else. Thus the seat sits open at this critical time. I believe I was removed not just because of my comments, but because of my knowledge and my record for speaking the truth. By a long and cruel silence we are being punished.

I will continue to advocate with the pen and with my voice for the St. Lucie River as I have since 2008 when I first became a Town of Sewall’s Point Commissioner and began to learn the dark history of Florida’s water policy. I want to thank the thousands of people and the many organizations who have helped in this battle. We must continue to “shine the light” and change water policy for the better as we have done and will continue to do. As we know, it’s a long and rocky ride.

~Jacqui

A not very full C-44 Reservoir, Indiantown, FL

2-14-24 SLR/IRL at St. Luice Inlet. Ed Lippisch.

A few of the ACOE Periodic Scientist Call slides 2-14-24 that I screenshot

Expresso-Turquoise Waters

Eye in the Sky…

Eye on Lake O…

~Expresso and turquoise waters converge near the St. Luice Inlet and the confluence of St. Lucie River/ Indian River Lagoon, as seen on February 1, 2024. Even with no major discharges from Lake Okeechobee since 2018, dark waters from rain runoff and area canals remain apparent.

When I asked Ed to take more varied shots of St. Luice, he said this is difficult due to being in a restricted air space during takeoff and landing. Also, unlike days of past, there are many airplanes and jets coming in and out of Witham Field.

Lake O is currently at 16.30 feet and we are experiencing a “strong El Nino” which means “rain.”

Maybe I’ll go up with Ed soon and try for some long range photographs. I have only been up in the Vans RV once, last June, and brought my barf bag! It was actually a wonderful flight.

~Aerials were taken 2-1-24 at approximately 12:30pm by Ed Lippisch.

~Images below are complements of South Florida System Update, Department of Environmental Protection, 1-31-24.

~Lake O

Blue Green Algae: South Florida System Update 01-31-2024

Prediction/El Nino conditions 1 and 3 months

El Nino means continued rain during Florida’s “dry season.”

~SFWMD Rainfall data and link

El Nino, Lake Okeechobee, and the St. Lucie River

1-10-24, St. Lucie Inlet region, Ed Lippisch

El Nino has not given us many sunny Florida days this winter; however, there have been a few. These aerials taken by my husband Ed Lippisch on January 10, 2024, around noon are an example of a rare sunny day. As mentioned in my last post, Lake Okeechobee has not been discharged to the St. Luice River heavily since 2018. Today, on 1-13-23, according to the Army Corps of Engineers, Lake Okeechobee is sitting at 16.06 feet. You can see from the 2024 chart below how the lake is creeping up since the new year. The 2023 chart below it, reveals numbers sometimes over 16 feet as well. There are a number of things causing uncertainly regarding lake operations. But on January 16th, 2024 the ACOE Periodic Scientist Call will occur. At this time we will get a clue of the fate of the St. Lucie. Hopefully nothing will change. Until then, you can go to eyeonlakeo.com and watch the numbers in close to real time while you email your favorite elected official.

~ACOE

~All aerials below were taken 1-10-23, Ed Lippisch

~St. Lucie Inlet with rain plume

~Looking west over Hutchinson Island, Sewall’s Point and Stuart. Just off of south Sewall’s Point is the confluence of the St. Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon

~St. Luice Inlet State Park (L) and Sailfish Point (R) on Hutchinson Island. Note lack of seagrass beds. There were once 700 acres of lush grasses in this area. Also called the Sailfish Flats

A strong El Nino 2023/2024 means higher than average rainfall for Florida.

It’s a Beautiful New Year

On December 31st, the eve of 2024, Ed photographed our region. On a bright sunny day after the settling of heavy El Nino rains, the camera revealed a world of beauty. Stubborn water quality problems and lack of seagrass habitat for wildlife persist but we are thankful for policy shifts that since 2019, have spared the St. Luice River major damaging, toxic discharges from Lake Okeechobee, and it shows.

El Nino’s guaranteed rains through spring, an entrenched legislative culture of protections for agriculture and development, and a lake sitting today at 15.97 will make this blue beauty difficult to hold.

But for today, it is a beautiful new year. Happy 2024 to everyone and may we continue to to speak out at any cost and may we continue to shine the light. J &E

~The St. Lucie River Indian River Lagoon

~Hell’s Gate, Sewall’s Point and Hutchinson Island where darker estuary waters collide with the incoming ocean

~St. Lucie Inlet at today’s Sailfish Point, Hutchinson Island

~Boats fishing over the reef off of Peck’s Lake in the blue and beautiful Atlantic Ocean. It is widely reported that only 3% of reefs have survived warming, pollution, and other stressors.

~Manatee Pocket bottom right -looking towards St. Lucie Inlet

~Rocky Point and St. Lucie Inlet State Park south of inlet. The once 700 acres of seagrass mostly bare. Like a plant in one’s yard it is dormant in winter but should not be absent

~The C-23 Canal divides St. Luice and Marin counties discharging into the St. Lucie River and is highly polluted from agriculture and development’s runoff. Reservoirs and stormwater treatment areas are underway by the ACOE and hoped to be completed by 2032.

We are Thankful to Share A View From Above, by Jacqui & Ed

Thanksgiving is approaching and it is time to reflect. Ed and I are grateful. We are grateful to be able to document the successes and setbacks of the Central Everglades Restoration Plan or CERP from the air. We are thankful to have pilot friends like Dr. Scott Kuhns and professional pilot Dave Stone join us – they have been fellow River Warriors for ten years! The photos we share today do not show perfection but they do show determination. All photographs were taken on November 19th 2023 between 2 and 4pm. It is our story, all of our story, as shown from above.

Pilot Dave Stone of Ft. Meyers is a long time River Warrior. He is pictured here with his newly built and painted Vans RV at LaBelle Municipal Airport. (Photo Ed Lippisch)

The following seven photos are of the C-43 Reservoir part of CERP. The SFWMD had a few hiccups due to the contractor and Covid but is now “back on track.” This reservoir will be gigantic. According to the ACOE it is located on 10,700 acres of former farmland in Hendry County, Florida, west of Labelle, the Caloosahatchee River West Basin Storage (C-43) Reservoir will hold approximately 170,000 acre-feet of water, with the maximum depth ranging from 15 feet to 25 feet. To compare, the C-44 Reservoir in Martin County is on 3000 acres and should hold 15 feet too.

C-43 RESERVOIR

The ACOE Integrated Delivery Schedule, its calendar for everything, for 2023, is aiming for 2028 to complete the building of the C-23 Reservoir.

IDS_DRAFT_090123_FOR PRINTING

LAKE OKEECHOBEE

C-44 RESERVOIR

S-308 at Port Mayaca is attached to the C-44 Canal, the canal the C-44 Reservoir is built to to clean before water through reservoir and storm water treatment area before it is released to the St. Lucie River.

ST. LUICE RIVER/IRL

The confluence of the St. Lucie River Indian River Lagoon meets at the St. Lucie Inlet built by hand by locals in 1892. Note erosion of Jupiter Island south.

October and November bring King Tides flushing out the inlet area and pushing back dark runoff and canal waters.

The Atlantic Ocean has been rough and is stirred up.

A southeastern look over the peninsula of Sewall’s Point clearly reveals the importance of tidal flow. The north and south forks and even the main do not get this extensive flushing. Due to discharges events in 2013, 2016 and 2018 seagrass loss has been significant. The goal is for the building of reservoirs and STAs of CERP to halt the damage, for that we are thankful.

“A View From Above” by Jacqui & Ed Lippisch

C-23 Canal separates Martin and St. Lucie counties as does an ideology.

Citrus Boulevard runs through what will become Newfield.

An interesting look at some remaining natural features.

Cobblestone cradled into I95, a concept once frowned upon and now popular.

The C-44 Reservoir in Indiantown holding 7 feet of water rather than 15 due to seepage issues.

C-44 Canal and S-308 at Port Mayaca, w/Lake Okeechobee algae free in cooler weather and standing at 16.20 feet.

Sugar fields surround Lake Okeechobee and in recent years are increasing in Martin County.

St. Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon – looking north over St. Lucie Inlet Park on Jupiter Island.

A slender plume exits the St. Lucie Inlet, from rain and runoff of C-23/24 and the surrounding basin, but no Lake O water.

Seagrass beds between Sewall’s Point and Hutchinson Island were ravaged in 2013, 2016, and 2018 due to Lake O releases and have been slowly coming back but with microaglae coating them. The once 700 acres is much lessened.

Looking over Rocky Point to the St. Lucie Inlet. Rocky Point has one of the few parks that displays native vegetation, “Maggy’s Hammock Park.”

Sewall’s Point was said to be “the most beautiful of all” in the topological survey description of this region in 1883. Most of the native jungle like vegetation and topography that inspired this title has been removed for today’s taste in development. You can see what was like in 1883 or near to it if you visit “Maggy’s Hammock Park” in Rocky Point. A treasure!

Aerial Update 7-17-23 SLR/IRL

Today I share aerial photographs taken by Ed Lippisch on September 17 around 9:30 am to 10am. The great thing about a photograph is that it speaks for itself! We have avoided a recent tropical storm or a hurricane’s impact on Lake Okeechobee, but the lake remains high at 15.41 feet as reported today by the SFWMD. Stormwater and canals C-23, C-24 continue pollute and discolor the estuary. Remember no fertilizer use during rainy season or if you’re like me EVER! Stay vigilant as hurricane season runs from June 1st through November 30th. Your eyes in the sky, J&E

https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/2178049/30_Glenn_EcoCond_Report_September2023_Final.pdf

Keep your eye on lake O!

ST. LUCIE RIVER/INDIAN RIVER LAGOON at ST. LUCIE INLET

S-308 at PORT MAYACA, LAKE OKEECHOBEE, and C-44 Canal aka St. Lucie Canal

Milky Atlantic to the C-43 Reservoir and Port Mayaca

Yesterday, September 2, 2023, my husband Ed flew from Stuart to La Belle located along the Caloosahatchee River. I asked him to take some aerials of the C-43 Reservoir that although having some tribulations will one day will be similar, but larger, than the St. Lucie’s C-44 Reservoir. Ed agreed and a took some interesting pictures. Ed also took some aerials of the St. Lucie/Indian River Lagoon that was whipped up and milky looking from eight foot seas pushing sand into the inlet from the Atlantic Ocean.

Check out Todd Thurlow’s amazing site, EyeonlakeO, which in “real-time” measures Lake Okeechobee at 15.38 feet, even after Hurricane Idalia. Hurricane season has at least two more months to go, so we are not home free yet. The ACOE and NOAA are vigilant.

We continue to be your eye in the sky! See you next week. J&E

I. C-43 Reservoir under construction, along Caloosahatchee River. 9-2-23, about 10:55 am. EL

II. St. Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon with strange milky look due to high seas, 9-2-23, about 11:30 am. EL

III. S-308 Port Mayaca, Lake Okeechobee visible blue green algae (cyanobacteria) has lessened with cooler weather, but lake water is terribly polluted and blue-green algae remains just dormant. Presently there is no discharging by the ACOE from Lake O into the SLR/IRL. Runoff from C-23, C-24 and C-25 and area runoff continues. 9-2-23, 11:20am. EL

Before the Storm, August 27, 2023

These aerials were taken by my husband, Ed Lippisch, on August 27, 2023 around 12:15pm. Other than an operational burp from Lake Okeechobee through C-44, it’s canals C-23 and C-24 which drain Port St. Lucie, Allapattah Flats, as well as our Tidal Basin – that are causing the present discoloration and decline in water quality. On a good note, though impaired, seagrass beds are visible near the Sandbar and algae is no longer seen from 1000 feet at Port Mayaca.

As we enter the primary hurricane season it’s unfortunate the alternative canal through the Everglades Agricultural Area once considered by the ACOE in the 1950s to alleviate the discharges is not in place. If history does indeed repeat itself, we must be prepared for more rain and Lake Okeechobee destruction added to the St. Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon.

We must keep our eye on lake O!

Most recent ACOE/SFWMD SLR update, 8-22-23

Rain and runoff plume exiting St. Lucie Inlet Visibile seagrasses and macroalge Sailfish Flats Sewall’s Point between the St. Luice and Indian RiverPeck’s LakeSL Inlet w/ plume

Sailfish Point on Hutchinson Island is next to St. Lucie Inlet S-308 at Port Mayaca C44 Canal aka St. Lucie Canal – no algae visible from 1000 feet

Impact

A picture speaks a 1000 words…

Ed’s RV is having its annual so on August 16, 2023 Ed went up in the SuperCub with Scott Kuhns. It was early morning and lighting limited successful outcome of photographs. Thus I have chosen a just a few, that for me, are impactful in what they say about development and agriculture and our environment. JTL

North River Shores, Martin County, Florida.

Cutting up the western lands, Tradition, St. Lucie County, Florida.

Sugar’s perfect water-control. Martin County, Florida.

Blue-Green algae in St. Lucie Canal (C-44), Martin County, Florida.

S-308 at Port Mayaca, St. Lucie Canal (C-44), Martin County, Florida.

Ed as a passenger over Lake Okeechobee, SuperCub of Scott Kuhns, 2023.

Aerial Update SLR to LO 8-6-23

Ed’s comment when he came home from flight yesterday was “not as bad as last time.”

Today’s aerials were taken 8-6-23 around 1:30pm. One can see blue-green algae, along the eastern shoreline of Lake Okeechobee, but not as much in the C-44 canal.

The St. Lucie River looks a bluer near Sewall’s Point- perhaps thanks to recent full moon tides and less rain runoff. Seagrass meadows covered in increasing a cyanobacteria and macro algae are visible. The seagrass is returning, but not in as good a shape, after massive and longterm Lake O discharges in 2018, 2016, and 2013 and decades of destruction.

Sandbar near St. Lucie Inlet, 8-28-23, FB Mike Yustin

Ed and I continue to be your “eye in the sky” and Todd is helping all of us keep an eyeonlakeo now at 15.30 feet according to the SFWMD. Hurricane season should start ramping up. It is not a good situation. More water should be able to be sent south as God intended.

~Lake O, Rim Canal, and C-44 at Port Mayaca’s S-308

~St. Lucie River-Indian River Lagoon. Sewall’s Point divides these waters.

~Note seagrass beds in next two photos. Once 700 acres now much less and impaired. Good to see it in any case!

Canal system of CSFP SLR/IRL. credit SFWMD

Aerial Update St. Lucie River to Lake O 7-29-23

Northern Lake O algae bloom On Saturday, July 29, 2023, my husband Ed returned from flight with 103 aerial photographs of the St. Lucie River to Lake Okeechobee. When there are so many photographs it is difficult for me to decide which ones to include so I have shared most in gallery format.

The St. Lucie River continues to be darkened by C-23, C-24 and storm water runoff while Lake Okeechobee continues to suffer from cyanobacteria blue-green algae blooms primarily in the north. Ed said there was algae in the middle of the lake but that it was more like a “sheen.” Like gasoline on water.

Ed’s photos show algae on both sides of the St. Luice Canal (C-44), but none at S-80, St. Lucie Locks and Dam, and little visible in the lake -again just a greenish color- at S-308 at Port Mayaca lakeside.

The algae in north Lake Okeechobee is dramatic and looks more clumped than I have witnessed previously. Perhaps wind and rain? Strange…

The only good thing I can say is that the ACOE and SFWMD continue to recommend no discharges from Lake Okeechobee to the St. Lucie River. We’ll see about next week.

On July 25, my brother Todd Thurlow eyeonlakeo texted me that S-308 was open at 1656 cubic feet per second but S-80 remained closed. I would imagine this water let in from the Lake Okeechobee was for canal levels or water supply of agriculture. If I were growing crops I would not wish to accept this water as University of Florida Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences UF IFAS had notes: “Cyanobacterial toxins can accumulate in crop plants, resulting in injury and yield loss; human health may be affected. Impacts of field crop exposure to cyanotoxins in irrigation water are unknown.”

Known or unknown, it can’t be good.

The historic role of agriculture supported by our state and nation is the primary reason the lake is in such awful condition today; this has been documented since 1969. (U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with Central and South Florida Flood Control District two year study on chemical and biological conditions of Lake Okeechobee, Beyond the 4th Generation, Lamar Johnson 1974.)

On Saturday, July 29 the South Florida Water Management District recorded the lake level at 15.03 feet. Do not pray for rain…

LAKE OKEECHOBEE

ST. LUCIE RIVER, ST. LUCIE CANAL, S-80, ST. LUCIE LOCKS AND DAM

ST. LUCIE CANAL TO S-308 AT PORT MAYACA AND LAKE OKEECHOBEE, ONE PHOTO BACK IN STUART

Canal systems dumping polluted fresh water into SLR, SFWMD visual.

Aerial/Seagrass Update St. Lucie River also Lake Okeechobee 7-23-23

Today I share my husband Ed Lippisch’s aerial photographs and one video taken around 11:30am on 7-23-23. Also included in the post are photos of reemerging seagrass beds taken by my brother Todd Thurlow on 7-2-23. A wonderful thing although Todd estimates that just under 80 acres were in the area he visited.

The St. Luice River/Indian River Lagoon is dark from rain, C-23 and C-24 discharge, and stormwater run-off, however most of the ocean looks gorgeous blue. You can even see the nearshore reefs. Seagrass and or macro-algae appear near the sandbars just inside the inlet. Not the 600 acres of yesteryear but some, and this is a good sign. There has been no discharge of Lake Okeechobee since April and that was a small amount with no algae. Nonetheless, it is never good for the river.

Lake Okeechobee shows no major algae blooms near S-308 as just a week ago at Port Mayaca although one can see the long green wisps like shadows in the water. This changes every day and you can follow at eyeonlakeo. This is Todd’s site and it shows Lake Okeechobee at 15 feet. Pray for no hurricanes.

There is algae on the inside gate of S-308 and some along the St. Lucie Canal also known as the C-44 canal as titled when it became part of the Central and South Florida Flood Control Plan of 1948. S-308 is overseen by the Army Corps of Engineers since 1930 but the South Florida Water Management District is involved spaying peroxide pellets on the algae when it gathers in big blue-green-gray rotting clumps as it did last week. The algae dies but more than likely sinks releasing toxins. A conundrum most definitely….

Thank you to my husband Ed who is in his tenth year documenting our waters by air. All of working together are make a difference. We are watching and they know it.

ACOE documented algae at S-308 on 7-13-23.

TODAY’S AERIALS, 7-23-23 by ED LIPPISCH

Sailfish Flats between Sewall’s Point and Hutchinson Island – note seagrass and macro algae in dark waters.
Seagrass with macro-algae near Sandbar 7-2-23, Todd Thurlow.

Hermit crab enjoying seagrass 7-2-23, Todd Thurlow.

Underwater one can see the macro-algae atop seagrass. Macro-algae is increasing due to nutrient pollution and warmer temperatures. 7-2-23, Todd Thurlow.

St. Lucie Inlet with plume juxtaposed to turquoise Atlantic waters.

Roosevelt Bridge at St. Luice River, Stuart (L) and Palm City (R).

Attachment to FPL cooling pond – algae present

S-308 Port Mayaca at Lake Okeechobee attached to St. Luice Canal

Close up vague algae streaks in lake and in enclosed area locks opening to boat thoroughfare.

Gallery various aerials 7-23-23 EL

Canal systems dumping fresh water into SLR, SFWMD visual of Central and South Florida Flood Control canals of Martin and St. Lucie County.

Dramatic Lake O Algae Aerial Videos S-308 – 7-12-23

Date taken: 7-12-23 at 1pm/Location S-308 and C-44 Port Mayaca, Lake Okeechobee, FL/Pilot Ed Lippisch.

Three videos are included of the large cyanobacteria-blue green algae bloom off of S-308. S-308 opens into the C-44 (St. Lucie Canal leading into Stuart and out to St. Lucie Inlet.) This bloom waxes and wanes based on conditions but it “always there.” Nutrient pollution must be overcome.

S-308 is presently closed by ACOE. Keep your eyeonlakeo today measured at 14.87 feet.

~A picture speaks a 1000 words; a video…

Lake O SLR Algae Aerial Update July 2023

These aerials were taken over Port Mayaca and the St Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon by Ed Lippisch on 7-7-23 around 11:30am.

The algae bloom on Lake Okeechobee has lessened compared to two weeks ago however, now Cyanobacteria can be seen clearly on the inside of S-308 at Port Mayaca, Lake Okeechobee. This is from boats coming through the locks from Lake Okeechobee at S-308 as the first two photographs display.

“The blue-green algae continues east along C-44 up to the railroad track, about a quarter to a half mile.” Ed Lippisch.

Keep your eyeonlakeo today, Sunday, 7-9-23 at 14.86 feet.

Boats going through locks S-308 algae from Lake O enters C-44 aka St Lucie Canal

More photos:

S-80 St Lucie Locks and Dam, about 20 miles east on C-44, no visible algae

St Lucie South Fork area where C-44 canal meets Fork of St. Lucie River 1st constructed 1916-1924 by the Everglades Drainage District. Tuned over to ACOE in 1930.

Kiplinger Island at Palm City, St Luice River. Tremendous shoaling occurs here due to St Lucie Canal aka C-44 controversial for 100 years.

7-7-23: St. Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon view from Willoughby Creek approaching Witham Field. River is darker with runoff and canal waters but not Lake Okeechobee. No algae.

Most updated chart SFWMD showing inputs for agenda materials 7-7-23. Will be fully updated by 7-13.

“In Full Bloom” Documentation Lake Okeechobee, Early June 2023

6-11-23 Cyanobacteria in Lake Okeechobee SE/Middle; no algae at S80, C44 as ACOE has gates at S308 Port Mayaca closed.

6-2-23 Off Port Mayaca, S. C-38, lake center

Thank you my husband Dr Ed Lippisch our eye in the sky. And thank you to my brother Todd who alerts us through his website http://eyeonlakeo.com when to fly. June 1st we entered hurricane season. If a storm causes the lake level to rise significantly there is a real possibility the ACOE will discharge. LOSOM an updated lake schedule that would be more beneficial to the estuaries has been delayed. Be ready. Make yourself heard.

Ed’s Aerial Update 4-21-23-SLR/IRL

Date: Friday, April 21, 2023

Time: Around 11:30am

Pilot: Ed Lippisch

Location: Confluence of the St. Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon; St Lucie Inlet; Roosevelt Bridge; west of Jupiter Narrows; western Martin County lands near Green Ridge and other areas; S-308 Port Mayaca; Palm City SLR area.

Conditions: No discharges from Lake Okeechobee. ACOE stopped April 15, 2013. There have been two major rain events in the past weeks.

Ed’s Aerial Update 4-19-23 SLR/IRL

Hello readers. I’m a bit behind, but wanted to include! Great reference and baseline aerials. now that L.O. discharges have been halted. JTL

Date: Wednesday, April 19, 2023

Time: Around 12:15pm

Pilot: Ed Lippisch

Location: Confluence of the St. Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon; St Lucie Inlet; Roosevelt Bridge and Palm City Bridge areas.

Conditions: No discharges from Lake Okeechobee. ACOE stopped April 15, 2013. There have been two major rain events in the past weeks. But not as much as in Ft Lauderdale!

Ed’s Aerial Update: Last Day of Discharges after 83 Days

Documenting the Discharges – 2023- to St Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon from Lake Okeechobee.

ACOE STOPS DISCHARGING AFTER 83 DAYS…

Date: Saturday, April 15, 2023

Time: Around 12:30 just before low tide

Pilot: Ed Lippisch

Location: Confluence of the St. Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon; Roosevelt Bridge area; S-80 St Lucie Canal; S-308 Port Mayaca at Lake Okeechobee.

Conditions: After months of almost no rain, Sewall’s Point received 5 inches last week-thus you see the really dark runoff along with discharges from Lake Okeechobee.

AFTER 83 DAYS, the ACOE, with the recommendation of the SFWMD, is halting discharges! Very good news.

Ed’s Aerial Report 74 Days After Discharges Begin

Documenting the Discharges – 2023 to St Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon from Lake Okeechobee – 74 days!

Date: Wednesday, April 5, 2023

Time: Around 11 am

Tide: High at Sewall’s Point

Pilot /Photographer: Ed Lippisch

Location: St Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon, St Lucie Inlet, Nearshore Reefs, Atlantic Ocean, Sailfish Flats, Jupiter Narrows, S-80 St Lucie Lock and Dam in St Lucie Canal (C-44), and S-308 at Port Mayaca at Lake Okeechobee

Hope giving “Seagrass Restoration Report” Power Point by Michael Yustin: Martin County Seagrass Restoration Project Thank you Michael for sharing!

Present discharge updates inn top banner: eyeonlakeo.com website – Todd Thurlow

S-80 at St Lucie Locks and Dam in St Lucie Canal (C-44)

S-308 at Port Mayaca – Lake Okeechobee no visible algae with cooler weather – sediment visible making lake cloudy

ACOE/SFWMD Environmental Envelope and present lake level is 14.39 feet

Ed’s Aerial Update 61 Days After Discharges begin

Documenting the Discharges– 2023- St Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon

Date: Friday, March 24, 2023

Around 4:00 pm

Pilot/photographer: Ed Lippisch

Discharge Updates: eyeonlakeo.com

Location: St Lucie Inlet, Sailfish Flats, Atlantic Ocean

Tide: Mid

-Ball of fish in ocean -pretty cool!

S-308 at Port Mayaca eyeonlakeo.com showing “pulsing” 500 cfs average ACOE

II.

Documenting the Seagrass

Date March 24, 2023

Around 5:00 pm

Boater/photographer: Mary Radabaugh (Thank you Mary!)

Location: Sandbar area near St Lucie Inlet between Sewall’s Point and Hutchinson Island

III.

Extra aerial: Ed Lippisch 3-24-23 around 4:30 pm JUPITER INLET w/ rain plume

Ed’s Aerial Update SLR -48 days after discharges began

Due to cyanobacteria sightings and thoughtful decisions of Col. Booth, the ACOE has been “off and on” discharging an average of 500 cubic feet per second to the St Lucie River from Lake Okeechobee (15.06 ft).

Today’s aerials show the St Lucie River and Port Mayaca at Lake Okeechobee on March 11 about two hours after high tide around 1:30 pm. Discharges began January 22, 2023. ~Ed and I continue to document the discharges with the hope that they will be halted as algae is present, visible or invisible, having bloomed early (February) in Lake Okeechobee.

I. TCPalm article “ACOE Starts Discharges to SLR for 3rd Time”

II. ACOE power point “Periodic_Scientists_Call”_2023-03-14

III. Follow along via “eyeonlakeo.com”- yellow in banner shows when gates are open, website via TT3

AERIALS

PORT MAYACA, LAKE OKEECHOBEE, S-308, Ed Lippisch (no visible algae/blue water)

ST LUCIE RIVER/INDIAN RIVER LAGOON, ST LUCIE INLET, SAILFISH FALTS, SEWALL’ POINT, HUTCHINSON ISLAND, Ed Lippisch (no visible seagrass)

Back to Lake Okeechobee, Ed Lippisch

Lake Okeechobee report SFWMD 3-24-23

Ed’s Aerial Update 41 minus 2 days after the discharges, SLR

Sailfish Flats devoid of visible seagrass

My husband Ed took these aerials yesterday March 4, 2023 around 11am. He described it as a “mid tide” between high and low. Also swinging by Port Mayaca, at Lake Okeechobee, this time there was no visible algae.

Following Ed’s aerials I am including those of Dr. Scott Kuhns whose photographs taken on February 27, 2023 around 10am showing streaks of algae caused the ACOE to close gate S-308 at Port Mayaca for about 2 1/2 days. Kudos to Dr Kuhns! And thank you to the ACOE for closing!

So the pictures directly below are Ed’s 3-4-23 and those following are Scott’s 2-27-23. We will continue to document the discharges with hopes they will be halted. We all agree that St Lucie River suffers under the discharges. She was taking water to avoid algae in summer. No one thought algae sightings would begin so early in February, but they have. With this discovery, it is time to 🛑 stop! Cyanobacteria is impossible to 100% track and understand. It is too ancient and will outsmart us every time. Close the locks.

Sky River Warriors since 2013. Pilots & friends Dr Ed Lippisch & Dr Scott Kuhns. This photo was taken by JTL in 2016.

February 27 by Dr Scott Kuhns. This photo caused the ACOE to close S308 for two and one half days.

Ed’s Aerial Report 33 days after discharges begin 500 cfs, SLR

Documenting the Discharges 2023 -St Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon

Eyeonlakeo.com resource guide to all things SLR

ACOE decision to begin lake o discharges to SRL

These aerial photographs were taken by my husband, Ed Lippisch, on Friday, February 24, 2023 around 1:51 pm during high tide. It was a beautiful day and many boats were fishing over the nearshore reefs. The 500 cubic feet per second discharges are much less noticeable at high tide; the visual loss of seagrass remains. I am sharing all photographs -many are very similar, you can look for small differences.

Please see slides from ACOE Periodic Scientist Call on 2-21-23 for updates on Lake Okeechobee level, red tide on west coast, east coast conditions, and other important information. Periodic_Scientists_Call_2023-02-21

With the hot, dry weather the last few days Lake Okeechobee’s evaporation should be high. Today the SFWMD reported the lake at 15.61 feet. You can see the ecological envelope band in gray below.

On Friday there was a waring from the Martin County Health Department of an algae bloom at S-308 at Port Mayaca on the canal side as the Department of Environmental Protection reported this observation from 2-22-23.

Ed and I continue to document the discharges.

JTL

Ed’s Aerial Report 24 days after discharges begin 500 cfs, SLR

~Ed’s Aerial Report 24 days after discharges begin at 500 cfs via ACOE from Lake Okeechobee to SLR/IRL. Documenting the Discharges.

My husband Ed Lippisch has asked me to get these photos on-line ASAP. They were taken of the St Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon area around Sewall’s Point, yesterday, February 15, 2023 around 1:25pm. It was an incoming tide about two hours after low tide. I do not have time to go through all the photos so I am sharing all of them. Many are almost identical. Color doesn’t look great. No seagrasses visible. Salinity remains in range according to FDEP. See my brother Todd’s website EyeonLakeO.com for more information.

Florida Oceanographic WQ Report Feb 15 2023

Via DEP: South Florida Coastal Salinity Status

Ed’s Flyover-Chokoloskee-one of the most interesting places in the world

Hello everybody. My husband Ed brought these photos home on February 11, 2023, taken around 12:41pm. Some of the aerials are amazing! They include the woods surrounding Everglades City and Everglades National Park in Collier County. The most striking to me, besides the unusual shapes included in 10,000 Islands, is Chokoloskee, basically the Nettles Island of the Everglades. It is certainly one of the most interesting looking places in the world. Thankfully the land around Chokoloskee was made into a National Park in 1947 or who knows what it would look like today!

-Chokoloskee is connected to Everglades City by a causeway in Chokoloskee Bay. Here, fresh water running off the land meets salt water. The Gulf of Mexico is only separated by a puzzle of beautiful islands in this remarkable place. -Chokoloskee

Google maps showing ret dot where Chokolosekee is located in reference to South Florida.

Ed’s Aerial Report 17 days after discharges begin 500 cfs, SLR

Today is Ed and my 18th year anniversary. I don’t have a lot of time to go through Ed’s recent photos as we document the discharges so I am just going to post all -of the St Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon from February 8, 2023 taken around 1:23 pm. There are only subtle nuances between them. The ACOE started discharging 500 cfs from Lake Okeechobee on January 22, 2023. You can see the effects in these photographs. The water is able to clear near the St Lucie Inlet at this time. No seagrass in sight. Please see previous post to compare. I will write more soon.

Ed’s Aerial Update, 12 days after discharges begin 500cfs SLR

DOCUMENTING THE DISCHARGES 2023

Aerials of St Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon taken February 3, 2023, 1pm “about two hours before low tide.” Florida Oceanographic Society graded the St. Lucie River at an overall “B” for water quality January 26 through February 1st. An “A” for the IRL and a “C” for the SLR west of Sewall’s Point. Since January 22, 2023, the ACOE continues to discharge 500 cubic feet per second from Lake Okeechobee to lower the lake in avoidance of toxic algae blooms predicted in Lake Okeechobee this summer due to Hurricane Ian. The lake is presently at 15.92 feet down from 16.10 feet on January 22, 2023. ~Photographs Ed Lippisch

WQ Report FOS: https://floridaocean.salsalabs.org/waterqualityreportweek…

Ed Lippisch River Warrior documenting the SLR since 2013.

~Aerials below taken 12 days after ACOE began discharging 500 cubic feet per second from S-80 via Lake Okeechobee. Color better in IRL than SLR. Of concern no visible seagrass.

SFWMD’s most recent chart from Environmental Conditions Report: Total Flow to the SLR.

SFWMD’s Operation Position Statement 1/31/23 to 2/6/03 the ACOOE: Ops_Position_Statement_Jan_31_Feb_06_2023

~St Lucie Inlet and Crossroads of SLR/IRL at Sewall’s Point, Stuart, Martin County, FL 2/3/23

Follow Todd Thurlow eyeonlakeo.com for easy to read updates.

Previous blog post: ED’S AERIAL UPDATE 7 DAYS AFTER DISCHARGES BEGIN 500cfs SRL

Ed’s Aerial Update, 7 days after discharges begin 500cfs SLR

Due to high Lake Okeechobee level and in light of cyanaobactia blooms predicted on lake this summer -a side effect of Category 4 Hurricane Ian- the U. S. Army Corp of Engineers, with the support of the SFWMD on 1-22-23, began discharging 500 cubic feet per second to the St Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon on January 22, 2023 and 2000 cfs to the Caloosahatchee to lower a lake not receding.

Yesterday, on January 29, 2023 my husband, Ed Lippisch, flew over the St Lucie River to see how the estuary is visually faring after seven days of discharges. He captured the images around 2pm so it was what he calls a “slack tide,” a tide in between high tide and low tide.

Today I share Ed’s aerials, the effects of discharges is obvious and to compare to a pre-discharge high tide and low tide taken on January 22, 2023, before the discharges reached the estuary, please see link above and go to end of blog post.

I cannot thank my husband enough for all of his flights and dedication as a River Warrior of the St Lucie River. He continues to be our eye in the sky since 2013 and my best friend.

Tide chart St Luce River. Note January 29, 2023. Ed’s photos were taken beginning at 1:56pm.

Below:

Aerials of St Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon after 7 days of discharges from Lake O, note darker water and plume at inlet. Among other things, the discharges cause less light to reach the struggling seagrasses and a plume exiting the St Lucie Inlet covers already sick near shore reefs.

More CERP projects than ever before are being built to offset discharges to the estuaries and this is cause for celebration, but it will take years for these projects to all be completed and undo the horrible environmental consequence of the Central and Southern Florida Plan of 1948. Most recently, since 2018, the State of Florida under the DeSantis administration, has led the effort to stop harmful discharges to the estuaries under Executive Order 19-12 and now 23-06. Millions of dollars are being spent by state and federal government. We will get there.

Slide of expenditures, Everglades Coalition Conference 2023 presentation.

LOSOM, a new lake operations schedule of the ACOE, will help too and should be in place by mid summer. This was an effort of all stakeholders. An exhausting and successful effort.

The St Lucie has not had heavy discharges in over four years. At height in years such as 2013, 2016 and 2018, over 5000 to 9000 cubic feet per second were sent to the St Lucie. This present 500 cfs is an attempt to avoid such a situation this summer. To lower the lake before it kills us. I hate discharges but I rather take my medicine now than be destroyed later. Also I appreciate the ACOE for trying something different (HAB DEVIATIONS & LOSOM). I have been watching like a hawk since 2008, I can assure you we are in a better place due to advocacy changing the political landscape. Do not get discouraged!

Lake Okeechobee Lake Levels U.S. ACOE

To follow the most updated lake okeechobee levels go to Todd Thurlow, eyeonlakeo.com

Grey is environmental envelope for Lake O. It is to be seen what the goal is for lowering the lake and decisions will be made weekly by ACOE.

Lake O Discharges 2023

St Lucie Canal, aka, C-44 at S-80, Ed Lippisch 1-22-23. ~Discharges began by ACOE from Lake O at 500 cfs on 1-22-23. For comparison, at worst times 5000 to 9000 cfs flooded the St Lucie on and off in 2013, 2016, 2018. 500cfs (cubic feet per second) is not good, but it is not high-level discharges. JTL

The St Lucie Canal, also known as, the C-44 Canal, is the property of the U.S. Government. Martin County public records show that in the early 1930s, as a result of the 1928 hurricane, the right of way of the Everglades Drainage District was taken as part of the Okeechobee Waterway.

The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers holds jurisdiction and decision making over the canal and the water that flows through it from basins and Lake Okeechobee. Since the great flood of 1947 and the creation of the Central and Southern Florida Plan, there has been a “local partner” in decision making. That partner today is named the South Florida Water Management District, formerly the Everglades Drainage District…

In a modern world, every week, there are conditions calls regarding Lake Okeechobee and the environmental envelope, etc. As in all things, these calls start with the “higher ups” and then end with a public call. The public call is the ACOE Periodic Scientist Call. During this call, stakeholders share conditions and concerns from all over south and central Florida. Most participants are government people or elected officials, but also heads of NGOs and members of the public chime in.

Grey is environmental envelope for Lake O

The process generally works as such: after all these calls, the SFWMD, the local sponsor, puts out an operations statement or recommendation to the ACOE. All of this information is available on line, but its like trying to find a needle in hay stack.

SFWMD Ops_Position_Statement_Jan_17_23_2023

Of course the ACOE and the SFWMD have been communicating all week. At the end of the day, because the U.S. ACOE holds jurisdiction over the C-44 Canal the ACOE is the final decision maker. More than ever, though, they are listening and even seeking public input. This is refreshing!

Pulse to average 500cfs -releases to the SLR from LO, via ACOEO and https://eyeonlakeo.com, Todd Thurlow

The ACOEs has been announcing their decision on the Jacksonville District’s media call on Friday of the week of all the other calls. This past Friday, the day after the SFWMD operations report was submitted, and all the “calls”, January 20, 2023, the ACOE held its media call, and the decision to start discharging from Lake Okeechobee was made make Col. Booth.

https://www.usace.army.mil/About/Leadership/Bio-Article-View/Article/2768770/col-james-l-booth/

Going back a couple of years, Col. Kelly, at the ACOE, came up with an operations plan called a HAB DEVIATION or Harmful Algae Bloom Deviation. This was done after Governor Ron DeSantis put forth Executive Order 19-12 that did all possible to avoid harmful and toxic discharges to the northern estuaries, St Lucie and Caloosahatcee, as years 2013, 2016 and 2018 had been disasters. HAB DEVIATIONS, like all things Army Corp, is engineering-like and complicated, but goal was to allow a deviation from lake operations (LORS or LOSOM) if there was algae in the lake or it was possible there could be algae in the lake, like after a Category 4 hurricane stirs everything up and brings massive runoff…

I am not sure if what the ACOE is doing now qualifies as a technical HAB Deviation, but it is certainly in the spirit of one. Both SFWMD and ACOE have stated they are expecting a large post Ian cyanobacteria blue-green algae bloom in Lake Okeechobee this summer. High lake water in summer would set off releases so they are hopefully dodging a bullet by lowing the lake now.

Due to Hurricane Ian, a Category 4 storm, that obliterated the lower west coast of Florida, coming in just north of Sanibel Island and Ft Meyers, Lake Okeechobee has risen four feet since September 28, 2022 cresting at around 16.47 feet. Because the Herbert Hoover Dike was almost complete, the ACOE did not discharge right away. If the lake had been at the 15.50 limit as before dike completion, there would have been discharges, input or no input.

Yesterday, January 25, 2023, was the ribbon-cutting for the Herbert Hoover Dike Rehabilitation. It took eighteen years. This does not mean there is unlimited allowance of water in Lake Okeechobee, but it allows for more flexibility as will LOSOM. Sediment has been settling in the lake since September/October.

I for one, appreciate the flexibility of the ACOE. In the old world when I entered in 2008, they just followed the book and opened the gates toxic algae or no toxic algae. Now there is awareness and thought. And water quality remains the responsibility of the state. If the ACOE believe/agree a HAB deviation is necessary after a Category 4 hurricane in order to try to avoid toxic discharges in summer when the lake often cooks into a toxic soup, I am all for it. I do not want to go through those type of years again!

These charts below from my brother Todd’s eyeonlakeo.com website show how water was discharged to the St Lucie in 2016, 2018, 2021, and 2022. Although the ACOE is discharging at 500 cfs average now to the SLR, all will be done to avoid another “Lost Summer!”

2016 Lost Summer 2

2018 Lost Summer 3

2021 nice summer even with LO releases (green)

2022 great summer, no releases LO

Photos of Ed Lippisch taken on Sunday, January 22, 2022, the day the 500 cfs discharges began to the St Lucie. These photos are baseline photos to compare to the future. I takes a day or more for discharge water to reach the St Lucie Inlet. The differences in these photos is due to tide and light.

SLR/IRL 1-22-23 at 11am, Ed Lippisch

SLR/IRL 1-22-23, 5:45pm

Ed’s St. Lucie River Update, January 15, 2023

-Eye in the sky since 2013, Ed Lippisch I am going to keep this blog post short as I already wrote another today. Yesterday, 1-15-23, at around 1:45 pm, Ed took aerials over the St Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon. As it has been cold and windy the past few days there has been a “Beach Hazards Statement” from the National Weather Service. In Ed’s photos, the rough, turquoise, incoming ocean waters make for a stark contrast against the darker waters of the river. I believe the ocean waters are full of sand and that is what gives the aerials the milky, almost iridescent coloring. Hopefully, the sand is not burying the dormant seagrasses in the Sandbar and Sailfish Flats. Thankfully, there is no dumping from Lake Okeechobee at this time although the river is receiving the other C-Canal water and runoff. I’ll get Ed up in the plane again soon as I have not yet flown in the Van’s RV -and I am not planning on it! 🙂 JTL

Added 1-18-23. ACOE’s Periodic Scientists Call -Power Point 1-17-23. Periodic_Scientists_Call_2023-01-17

Visual Seagrass Comparison -August 2022 to January 2023 SLR/IRL

After a stretch of hurricane and rains since October 2022, the St Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon is clearing up. The river has endured the “usual suspects” C-44 basin, C-23 canal, C-24 canal, and stromwater runoff; however, luckily no damaging discharges from Lake Okeechobee.

With my husband Ed’s most recent flight, I was pleased to see the blue, clear waters returning to the Sailfish Flats and surrounding waters of the St Lucie Inlet in the vicinity of Sewall’s Point. But I was surprised and a bit disturbed to see a “seagrass desert” once again. Of course seagrass, like all plants, is more abundant and lush in summer months, but to see “nothing?” This seems strange. I need to get in the water with a mask for a closer look!

Let’s compare two photographs, one taken in August 2022 and another taken in January 2023.

I. AERIAL TAKEN January 8, 2023. Water looking clearer but no visible seagrasses.

II. AERIAL TAKEN AUGUST 26, 2022. This photos show regrowth of seagrasses.

As the August 26, 2022 photograph shows, seagrasses had rebounded in the southern Indian River Lagoon after years of damaging discharges. The worst recent Lake Okeechobee discharges were between the years of 2013 and 2018.

St. Lucie seagrasses are critical water and wildlife habitat. Especially as the seagrasses in the central northern lagoon have disappeared at such an alarming rate that a high number of manatees have starved to death.

In recent years FWC has been feeding Indian River Lagoon manatees romaine lettuce as they have no secure seagrass food source. This is not sustainable. All political policy must specifically support the betterment of water quality and the return of seagrasses of the Indian River Lagoon. This began yesterday with an Executive Order of Governor Ron DeSantis. See section 2.

-ALL OF ED’S AERIALS January 8, 2013, around 12:30pm.

-EXTRA and WONDERFUL NEWS. Click on photos to enlarge.

The next day, January 9th, Ed went flying with artist and friend Geoffrey Smith to relocate a very endangered Right Whale and her calf that Geoffrey had spotted in the Hobe Sound area just south of the St. Luice Inlet, on January 8, 2023. With his permission, I am sharing Geoffrey’s photos.

Wonderful news that our St Lucie is looking better. We must continue to take the protection of seagrasses and water quality seriously.

-Photos and mapping of Right Whale and Calf off of Hobe Sound in Atlantic Ocean. Geoffrey Smith, January 9, 2023.

AREA CANALS DRAINING TO SLR/IRL

Wrapping up 2022-St Lucie River Update

Tomorrow will be December 31, 2022. Today I share the most recent aerial photographs of the St Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon and even one around Lake Okeechobee.

It was a very cold Christmas season. According to the Stuart News, Stuart logged in at 39 degrees on Christmas Day! The cold system hovered for a few days causing intermittent rain and cloud coverage. These photos taken a few days later after it warmed up -on an incoming tide- reveal that since our last photo session, it appears the river is clearing up thankfully with no discharges from Lake Okeechobee in 2022.

AERIALS

-December 28, 2022 at 8:45am, west of Stuart, east side of Lake Okeechobee, near Barley Barber Swamp and FPL cooling reservoir, -sugarcane burning or a controlled burn??? Photographs taken by Scott Kuhns from SuperCub.

-December 29, 2022 around 2:30 pm, St Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon around St Lucie Inlet, Sewall’s Point, Sailfish Flats, wide view taken over Palm City. Aerials by Ed Lippisch from Vans RV. I am including all photos although some are very similar as each one shows something a little different. Remember you can click on photo to enlarge 🙂

Wishing everyone a very happy and safe New YearEve and let’s continue to work together for a great 2023 for the St Lucie River!

Visual Update St Lucie River 12-20-22

I wanted to provide a visual update of the St Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon. Even though the river looks dark and silty, as 2022 comes to a close, we remain fortunate that there have been no major discharges from Lake Okeechobee to the St Lucie River since 2018 and no discharges to the St Lucie this year even though Lake Okeechobee got very high -maxing out at 16.51 feet.

Recently, there has been quite a bit of rain in Martin County. This follows the rains of Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Nicole. Thus the river looks dark and silty from weeks of runoff. The runoff now is coming from surrounding lands as well as C-23, C-24 and C-25 out in the IRL at Ft Pierce. There are also hundreds of old ditches that dump into the St Lucie River running though creeks such as Dansforth, Willoughby, Warner and others.

Thankfully the Indian River Lagoon South project is underway by the ACOE and local sponsor SFWMD to offset the destruction of the major canals of the Central and Southern Florida Plan. If things go well and the economy and political will remain in place, the remainder of these projects should be complete in ten or fifteen years. The C-44 Reservoir and STA in Indiantown, Martin County is complete. Ten to fifteen years sounds like a long time, however, these are gigantic, expensive projects working to undo gigantic problems as our population skyrockets.

In the meanwhile we should be working on going septic to sewer where necessary and improving our yards by using little grass, fertilizer, or pesticides; planting more native and Florida Friendly plants; using less water, picking up dog waste; and realizing everything we put on our laws or fertilize -crops and/or yard plants- ends up in the water ways! We have to be part of the solution. Don’t expect the government to do it all.

AERIAL PHOTOS ST LUCE RIVER UPDATE

Ed Lippisch, my husband, and Scott Kuhns, our dear friend, took the aerials I am sharing today. The river does not look great due to so much rain. Thank goodness there are no Lake O discharges on top of this “local runoff.” Of which it really is not! This runoff has been mainlined here through canals of the Central and Southern Florida Plan.

Next year they both Ed and Scott will have been River Warriors for ten years documenting the St Lucie! As eyes in the sky they provide a wider view and inspire a wider net of recovery for these waters. My brother, Todd’s web site eyeonlakeo allows for full time satellite and data updates.

SCOTT KUHNS, SUPER CUB, December 16, 2022 around 9:40 am. St Lucie Inlet (Hutchinson Island) plume about 12 miles south past Peck’s Lake, (Hobe Sound).

ED LIPPISCH, VAN’S RV December 18, 2022 around 12:15 pm. Plume at St Lucie Inlet, and dark runoff waters discoloring the entire estuary even close to the inlet around Sewall’s Point and Sailfish Point, Hutchinson Island.

Most recent rain as shown in my rain gauge. Just under 4 inches around December 14.

12-21-22 Added Presentation from ACOE Periodic Scientist Call: Periodic_Scientists_Call_2022-12-20

Draining Palm City

My recent blog post featuring my brother Todd’s time capsule flight of Palm City 1966 Then & Now received great interest. So today I am going to take the subject a bit further in our study of area canals that drain wetlands into the St Lucie River.

If you have never seen the 1940s Aerial Photos UF Collection, you must! These historic aerials were taken when the United States had new-spy plane technology. They are our earliest comprehensive, aerial wetland accounts of Martin County, St Lucie County, and all of central and southern Florida. (All the dark in the photos is little ponds and sloughs!)

Just recently, through the help of archivists at the South Florida Water Management District, I was able to verify important historic information regarding canals C-23, C-24 and C-25. Again, these canals were constructed as part of the Central and Southern Florida Plan after the great flood of 1947. What is most interesting is that these canals were dug atop already existing local drainage ditches…

According to the SFWMD:C-23: “Acquisition began in April 1951 and concluded in 1961. There was an existing creek and ditch known locally as the Bessey Creek Canal. The Corp’s As Built Survey is dated November 18, 1964.

*I would think this local ditch had been dug by the Palm City Drainage District.

C-24: Acquisition began in August 1958 and concluded in October 1962. There was a existing canal know as the Diversion Canal, which was under the jurisdiction of the North St Lucie River Drainage District and they converted their interest in the canal to the SFWMD in August 1958. The Corps’ As Built Survey dates June 22, 1962.

NO PHOTO for C-25. (1940 aerials do not contain the Belcher Canal as the plane did not fly that far north. There are later aerials of the Belcher Canals after 1940, but I am sticking with 1940 today! the Belcher Canal, now C-25 is starts in Ft Pierce at Taylor Creek dumping into IRL.)

C-25: Acquisition began in October 1949 and concluded in September 1962. There was an existing canal known as the Belcher Canal, which was under the jurisdiction of Fort Pierce Farms Drainage District and they converted their interest in the canal to the SFWMD in January 1961. The Corp’s As Built Survey is dated July, 8 1964.”

Full view 1940’s Aerials 1 & 2

For me, it is important to know the history of these canals. The C-44 south, and connected to Lake Okeechobee is our greatest water quality nightmare, however C-23, C-24, and C-25 are also extremely destructive. Yes, they allowed great growth of agriculture and development, but they, as all the canals of the Central and Southern Florida Plan continue to killing our environment and the wildlife that once flew, roamed, ran, hopped, and dug freely, not to mention water quality issues.

The ACOE and the SFWMD are in the process of Northern Everglades restoration through the Indian River Lagoon South component of CERP. This is wonderful news! We must be mindful of this before we continue to allow more growth and development and more drainage within these lands.

Indian River Lagoon South an overview

C-23/25 Recevoir & STA under construction

Palm City, FL 1966 Then and Now w/ Todd Thurlow

Today’s blog post is about western Martin County Florida’s Palm City. This post includes my mother’s inspiration, my brother Todd’s time capsule flight video, and my writing.

Palm City was once narrow strips of pine flatlands interspersed with hammocks, ponds, wide prairies, sloughs, sawgrass and cypress trees. Today it is a bustling part of Martin County due to the drainage of the C-23 canal on the north, and the C-44 canal on the south. When one attempts to unravel the long history of drainage of Palm City, it is helpful to think in three connected but separate levels: local, state, and federal.

In 1919 the Palm City Drainage District was created. It was established for a local level as a special drainage district by the Florida Legislature with a lifetime of fifty years. It was primarily created to drain newly established Palm City Farms. Miles of canals and ditches were dug to drain into Bessey Creek, Dansforth Creek, and the South Fork of the St Lucie River. Some of these canals and ditches still exist today or have been incorporated into larger canals.

Palm City Drainage District Docs. 1919

Digging of the St Lucie Canal in the south began around 1915 lasting into 1926. It was dug by the Everglades Drainage District, State of Florida, from the South Fork of the St Lucie River to Lake Okeechobee. After the deathly hurricane of 1928, the federal government authorized widening and deepening the St Lucie Canal to create the Okeechobee Waterway also known as the Cross State Canal from Stuart, across Lake Okeechobee, to Ft Meyers. Doing so allowed the St Lucie Canal to conveniently function as the main outlet for Lake Okeechobee’s flood waters. Later, after the great flood of 1947, the canal became part of the Central and Southern Florida Plan and renamed C-44 becoming part of the giant Central and Southern Florida Flood Control System of the Army Corp of Engineers.

The great flood of 1947 called not just for the widening and depending of the St Lucie Canal and enlargement of its structures, but the federal Flood Control Act of 1948 authorized more canals, levees, and structures to be built by the Army Corps of Engineers throughout southern and central Florida. Among the new canals were the C-23, the C-24 and C-25 canals of Martin and St Lucie counties -all discharging into the North Fork of the St Lucie River. The state asked for and supported this. The C-23 is the border between Martin and St Lucie Counties. Of course there were major unintended consequences that added to the discharges of the St Lucie Canal and the original Palm City Drainage District. This plethora of fresh, dirty water has all but killed the St Lucie River. Improving the health of the St Lucie is the goal of local, state, and federal restoration efforts today.

The video below created by my brother Todd begins in 1966 after all the aforementioned canals were constructed. It is easiest to see in a large format. You can either click on the YouTube image below or use this link to watch this remarkable Palm City time Capsule Flight!

*Click on link to watch video by Todd Thurlow

-Below: the federal government’s (ACOE) Central and Southern Florida Flood Control Project authorized by Congress in 1948 included C-23 on the border of Martin and St Lucie Counties, C-24, and C-25,- and enlarging the flood control structure along the St Lucie Canal. Once this system was built out it was turned over the state of Florida’s Central and Southern Flood Control District; however, the ACOE kept the St Lucie Canal now named C-44, for federal flood control. The Central and Southern Flood Control District, a Florida state agency that followed the Everglades Drainage District in 1949, became the South Florida Water Management District in 1977. -Below: A 1973 C&SFP update map, Army Corp of Engineers. Green never built thank God!