HEALTH

Operating Lake Okeechobee: Stuart crowd wants Army Corps to hear wide array of concerns

Tyler Treadway
Treasure Coast Newspapers

STUART — In February, hundreds of people told the Army Corps of Engineers how to operate Lake Okeechobee; and on Tuesday, members of a much smaller crowd wanted to make sure their specific concerns were noted.

Ryan Rossi of the South Florida Water Coalition, for example, told Corps representatives the water supply needs in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties weren't getting enough attention.

Scott Watson, owner of Indiantown Marina, said not to neglect the navigation needs of the Okeechobee Waterway connecting Stuart and Fort Myers via the lake and called lowering the lake level "playing Russian roulette with water supply."

Gary Goforth, a Stuart environmental engineer, asked the Corps not to forget the "public health crisis" caused by the toxic algae blooms.

And Shannon Melzer of Palm City was afraid the opinions of "average citizens concerned about water quality" would be drowned out by the well-funded interests of agriculture and real estate.

The differing interests demonstrate the balancing act the Corps faces in developing the Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual, aka LOSOM, guidelines that will determine, among other things, if, when and how much lake water will be discharged east to the St. Lucie River and west to the Caloosahatchee River.

More: How high, how low should Lake Okeechobee go?

Jim Riley (left), environmental engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Doug Gaston, northern Everglades policy analyst for Audubon Florida, make decisions during a Lake Okeechobee water operations exercise at the second Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual public workshop hosted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2019, at Indian River State College Chastain Campus in Stuart. The exercise was meant to put the crowd, including Army Corps engineers and economists, concerned residents and employees of area municipalities, in a realistic decision-making scenario, said Calvin Neidrauer, chief hydrologist for the South Florida Water Management District and creator of the exercise. "It's an opportunity for folks in a rather light environment to get a feel for the factual information that drives the lake decisions and have the opportunity to make the decisions themselves," Neidrauer said.

"We're not looking at pitting groups against each other," Jason A. Engle, the Corps' chief of water resources engineering, told the crowd of about 50 people. "We're starting off with no weighting. Instead, we're looking for opportunities for mutual benefits."

At the Corps' first meeting on LOSOM in February, the vast majority of public speakers called for the lake to be kept at lower levels, which would provide more capacity for water and reduce the need for discharges.

More: Corps told to treat Lake O discharges as public health issue

LOSOM = Lower lake?

The Corps did just that this year, and the move has been credited for preventing discharges, even in the wake of the near miss by Hurricane Dorian. The Corps also is seeking a "planned deviation" from the current operating guidelines that would allow lower lake levels until the new guidelines become effective in 2023.

That doesn't mean LOSOM will include lower lake levels, said Tim Gysan, the LOSOM project manager.

More: Army Corps mulls 'deviation' to keep Lake O lower, prevent discharges

"We'll look at all the information we have to develop different sets of alternatives that give us the most flexibility," Gysan said,."But the fact that what was done this year has worked will no doubt inform our process as we move forward."

"What about health?" questions Anna Bergalis, of Sewall's Point, during a Lake Okeechobee water operations exercise at the second Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual public workshop hosted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2019, at Indian River State College Chastain Campus in Stuart. "They don't say anything about healthcare here," Bergalis said. Bergalis' husband contracted pneumonia in 2018 during a toxic blue-green algae outbreak in the St. Lucie River and continues to see a doctor for treatment.

The new guidelines also will take into account the effects of projects scheduled to be completed by the tie LOSOM takes effect:

  • The strengthening of the Herbert Hoover Dike around the lake.
  • The C-44 Reservoir and Stormwater Treatment Area to store and clean water heading east to the St. Lucie River,
  • The C-43 Reservoir to store water heading west to the Caloosahatchee River
  • The Kissimmee River Restoration Project north of Lake O

"At this point, no decisions have been made at all," Gysan said. "The draft of the plan is still subject to change depending on input we receive."

The Corps has determined the goals for the new operation schedule:

  • Improve Lake O's ecology
  • Minimize discharges to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee
  • Improve dry season flows to the Caloosahatchee and Everglades National Park
  • Avoid risks to public health either through flooding or harmful algae bloom

A voice from the crowd had only one objection to those goals: "Instead of saying 'minimize' discharges to the St. Lucie, it should say 'eliminate' them."

More: Corps holds off on discharges, notes hurricane season not over