Tag Archives: Discharges 2023

Mother Nature Holds the Cards

Helpful Charts – Where are We with L.O. Discharges 2023

The discharges have gone on for a long time. The ACOE with the support of the SFWMD began discharging to the St Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon on January 22, 2023 as the level of Lake Okeechobee had jumped four feet when Hurricane Ian ground through southwest Florida last September.

Then strangely algae appeared in Lake Okeechobee in February, very early in the year, and the ACOE halted and restarted discharges three times as the Colonel was uncomfortable with the visual amount of algae at S-308 in Port Mayaca. Then the weather got cooler and the the algae visually subsided and the ACOE continued the goal of getting the lake down for the next hurricane season for the lake operation schedule. For a hundred years the water that once flowed south from Lake Okeechobee has been increasingly blocked and redirected to the northern estuaries even though once there was a serious ACOE consideration in the 1950s of a third outlet south of the lake, “Plan 6.”

Today I share charts and information that is easy to understand as we enter the fourth named month of discharges. Will they stop? We have been fortunate in that the weather this year has been very dry and the lake is receding. For water managers according to the recent SFWMD Water Resource Form, current projections still have then lake between 13.5 and 14 feet on June 1st. But it seems so dry. Grass is brown and people are watering their lawns like crazy. Wouldn’t it be ironic if we go into a drought and we wish we had the water later? It has happened before. Mother Nature holds the highest cards in this poker game.

Florida Oceanographic Water Quality Report 3-31-23 B+

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 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.