Collier and Lee counties team up to oppose Army Corps plan for Lake Okeechobee releases

Collier County is teaming up with Lee County to push back against an Army Corps of Engineers plan that would change how much and where water from Lake Okeechobee is released.   

The Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual, otherwise known as LOSOM, is reviewed by the Army Corps every seven to 10 years. The new plan is set to be finalized in November.  

County officials in Southwest Florida have said that the new plan will send an unequitable amount of water from the lake toward the west coast via the Caloosahatchee River, which empties into an estuary in Lee County. 

Scientists believe nutrients from Lake Okeechobee’s water can be harmful for the environment and can contribute to the growth of algae in the Gulf of Mexico, such as red tide.    

"A lot of the science is pointing directly to the fact that Karenia brevis, the organism that forms red tide, is not a picky eater,” said James Evans of the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation. “Whatever nutrients are available, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, will exacerbate an existing bloom or potentially lengthen the bloom event.”  

Previous coverage:

• SWFL to feds: Don't make us bear the brunt of dirty Lake O releases
• Nonprofits join forces to hire 'science geek' to help fix the region's water woes
• Lack of nutrient criteria in Collier's canals leaves gaps in water quality restoration

Collier County commissioners unanimously voted Tuesday to send a letter to the Army Corps of Engineers that states Collier is in support of Lee County and the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation’s position pushing back against the new plan for discharges from Lake Okeechobee.  

“Collier County remains extremely concerned about the impacts of high discharges from the Caloosahatchee River that may ultimately affect surrounding communities, including harmful algae blooms and die off of sea and plant life,” the letter reads.    

The letter encourages the Army Corps to generate a more balanced plan. A similar letter was already sent to the Army Corps from Charlotte County officials.  

Lee County and the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation are concerned with the amount of discharges that would be sent down the Caloosahatchee River and how the flows are measured in the Army Corps' plan.  

"We need to have major modifications to the plan,” said Lee County Commissioner Kevin Ruane. “The county has taken a position with Charlotte (County) that if there are not significant changes to this, we are prepared to do whatever we need to do to challenge this.” 

The plan as it stands is not fair when it comes to discharges from the lake, Ruane said.  

"My philosophy is everyone has to share the pain,” Ruane said. “It can't all go in one direction. At the end of the day, the remaining water goes east and west and currently, most of the diagram has it going all west and that's just not fair. It doesn't make any sense." 

Subscribers:West coast Floridians defiant against Lake O release schedule

Before commissioners voted to approve sending the letter, Evans gave a presentation on the impacts of the Lake Okeechobee discharges in Southwest Florida.   

“You can see that these harmful algal blooms have a direct impact on the quality of life of our residents here in Lee County,” Evans said. “Those impacts can be translated and transferred as far south as Collier County. When we are delivering large volumes of water to the coast, the nutrients that can fuel harmful algal blooms like red tide, you (Collier County residents) also feel the effects of those discharges.”  

Evans showed the commissioners photos of the Caloosahatchee River covered in blue-green algae blooms in 2018 and discussed Southwest Florida’s red tide in 2018. 

In July 2018, a 26-foot whale shark washed up dead on Sanibel Island, and scientists knew it was going to be a bad year for red tide, Evans said.  

That red tide bloom began in the late fall of 2017 and lasted until January or February of 2019, he said. At its peak in September of 2018, the bloom extended down the coast from near Pasco County to southern Collier County and killed dolphins, fish and other marine life, Evans said.

“We feel strongly that the plume and nutrients delivered from the Caloosahatchee did contribute to the intensity and duration of that red tide bloom,” Evans said.  

Nicole Johnson, an advocate for the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, said the Army Corps' plan for discharges from Lake Okeechobee is one of the most important water policy issues at hand.  

"The Conservancy and SCCF are west coast-based policy organizations, and we are really focused on ensuring that the management of Lake Okeechobee, that release of water, the timing of that is going to be sufficiently protective for our west coast interests,” Johnson said.  

Collier County Commissioner Penny Taylor introduced the item passed by commissioners Tuesday that allowed for the letter to be sent to the Army Corps.  

“The biggest problem is that the east coast, St. Lucie, is getting no water releases under this plan. That puts additional pressure on the Caloosahatchee,” Taylor said. “It's an unfair balance. We need to share the goodness and share the adversity."