Yesterday the Army Corps of Engineers announced that they will be allowing a deviation in operations for the Water Conservation Areas. You may recall my recent posts about the high water levels in the manmade, levied water conservation areas and the dangers to wildlife and tree islands and the fact that when they are “full” it is not possible to “send water south” to the Everglades National Park from Lake Okeechobee….
-which means that if the Lake is filling up the St. Lucie River is closer to being discharged to. Today according to the South Florida Water Management District the lake sits at 16.01 feet. If indeed the present strong El Nino unleashes torrents of rain this winter, as it already did on November 15, 2023, or even if not, and the ACOE wants to “plan” by sending non- toxic algae lake water to the estuaries before summer, we are hosed.
Why? Because the system was built that way. It was built to favor some and hurt others, to protect the Everglades Agricultural Area and South Florida from flooding by draining Lake Okeechobee into the St. Luice and Calooshahatchee.
OK. A lot of issues were accepted from the late 1800s through 1948 when the Central and Southern Florida Plan was built. That does not mean it is acceptable today. There are options that would greatly improve the situation, like having everyone including the EAA sugar lands hold water on their lands instead of using the lake like a pond at a homeowner’s association to irrigate their lawn! This is 2024 almost!
It is appreciated that the ACOE is allowing a deviation for the Water Conservation Areas and of course the animals and tree islands must be helped too. But we must realize this it is not enough to save the the St. Lucie River that is almost dead as it is. No false hope.
It’s time for a new recipe!
1948
Strong El Nino 2023/2024 means rain.