OKEECHOBEE – Improving the health of Lake Okeechobee was among the priorities discussed at the Sept. 6 meeting of the County Coalition for Responsible Management of Lake Okeechobee, the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee Estuaries and the Lake Worth Lagoon.

“I think we should adopt the lake as its own priority,” said Martin County Commissioner Doug Smith.  “After all these years, it needs to have its own priority as one issue,” Smith explained. This would not take away from Everglades restoration efforts.”

He said updates on the C&SF project (Central and South Florida flood control) should also be a priority. “They ought to be on parallel tracks but separate projects,” said Smith.

Palm Beach County Vice Major Maria Moreno said restoration of the ecological health of the Lake Worth Lagoon is their top priority. She said the county also hopes to purchase and preserve as much land in the Pal-Mar area as possible. “Our goal is to restore it to its natural beauty.”

She said their number two priority is the permanent protection of state parks. Moreno said the reaction to recent proposal to build a golf course at Jonathan Dickenson State Park, which borders Palm Beach County, “was a firestorm.”

“We had an outpouring of folks in Palm Beach County and Martin County,” she said, noting they must fight to keep state parks in their natural state.

 St. Lucie County Commissioner Chris Dzadovsky said the Indian River Lagoon South projects are his county’s top priority.

He said the county continues to move forward with septic-to-sewer conversion. He said the county was able to obtain a number of grants which paid for 87% of the cost of the north beach septic-to-sewer project. But that wasn’t enough for some people. He said of a 500-home area known as Queen’s Cove, “They wouldn’t let us have an easement.” Without the easement, the septic-to-sewer project could not be done in Queen’s Cove. “They chose to forgo the opportunity for 87% of their septic-to-sewer cost to be paid.” He said in 9 years, state law will require them to hook their homes up to sewer lines. “Their $6,000 cost is going to turn into $30,000.”

Charlotte County Commissioner Ken Doherty said septic-to-sewer projects are also progressing in his county. He said priorities include a statewide plan to fund clean water projects and more water storage north of Lake Okeechobee.

““I want our organization to stay focused on mechanized extraction on vegetation in all of our waterways. You have to remove the vegetation. You can’t continue to spray.” Collier County Commissioner Bill McDaniel said. As a second priority, “I love the idea of prioritization of the lake itself.”

He said dredging the sediment out of the bottom of the lake may be the key to success. This would remove nutrients from the lake and also create more volume for water without raising the lake level.

 “We need to focus on the lake – it’s an issue that causes us so many other issues,” said Lee County Commissioner Kevin Ruane.

During the public comment period, Newton Cook of United Waterfowlers of Florida noted “responsible management of Lake Okeechobee” is in the coalition’s title.

“Lake Okeechobee is in more trouble now than it has been in the 25 years I have been involved,” said Cook.

Lake Okeechobee was dropped from BassMasters’ Top 10 bass lakes this year, said Cook. “Who could believe that could happen? But it happened and it was self-inflicted.”

He said there has not been a major rain event that directly affected the lake, “yet we sit here today with the lake without any SAV (submerged aquatic vegetation).

“It happened because of bad water level management. Politics got involved,” said Cook. “Science tells us the lake should be managed from 12 feet at the end of the dry season to 15 feet at the end of the wet season. Mother Nature throws curves. We understand that, but when it’s purposely held at over 16 feet during the dry season, there is no excuse for that. And that of course is what we just agreed to with LOSOM (the new Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual).

“How are you going to run the lake, if’ you’re holding it over 16 feet in the dry season, and have anything but a putrid mess?” he asked

“Who wants to come to a lake that has no SAV?” he continued. He said without SAV there is no habitat for spawning fish and no cover for young fish.

“FWC (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission) will tell you recruitment of fish is going down,” he said. “And we did it to ourselves! There wasn’t even a storm. It’s a disaster.”

Cook suggested bringing back the Water Resources Advisory Commission (WRAC) group which was disbanded by the South Florida Water Management Governing Board in 2019. The group included stakeholders from all around the Big O, bringing together representatives from environmental, agriculture, hunting, fishing and business interests as well as utility authorities.

Cook said they should bring back the WRAC group and “actually talk about Lake Okeechobee.”

“It’s the heart of the Everglades and we’re sitting here north of the Everglades pumping out dirty water every direction,” said Cook. “It’s happening because they managed the lake for political reasons instead of managing the lake the way it is supposed to be managed, 12 feet to 15 feet or as close as you can.”