Gov. Rick Scott tells DEP to urge Army Corps to redirect Lake Okeechobee discharges south

Ali Schmitz , Ed Killer | Treasure Coast Newspapers

Show Caption Hide Caption VIdeo: The discharges of 2017 The 134 billion gallons of Lake Okeechobee water sent east makes this year's discharges the 12th largest ever sent to the St. Lucie River. TYLER TREADWAY/TCPALM

Gov. Rick Scott told the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Wednesday to issue an emergency order urging the Army Corps of Engineers to "send it south."

By "it," he means Lake Okeechobee water that's been carrying blue-green algae blooms — some of it toxic — to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers since the Army Corps started discharging excess lake water east and west on June 1.

While the message appears to offer relief, some have noted that there is no storage nor not enough conveyance for the water to go to the south, and that is going to be a problem.

More: Lake O water flow since June 1

The freshwater kills life in the brackish St. Lucie estuary and is laden with fertilizer — nitrogen and phosphorus in particular — that feeds algae blooms. The blue-green algae has been carried by the discharges from Lake Okeechobee where it originated towards the coastal estuaries.

Lake Okeechobee discharges begin June 1 Environmental reporter Tyler Treadway reports on the first Lake Okeechobee discharges of 2018 from the St. Lucie Lock and Dam in Stuart.

According to the emergency order, it will permit the Army Corps of Engineers and South Florida Water Management District to coordinate moving "significant volumes of flood water" out of the Water Conservation Areas south of the lake.

The order would expire Nov. 30, the same day as the last day of the 2018 hurricane season.

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Before the Army Corps' began discharges, the water district began lowering water levels in the three water conservation areas south of the lake. The emergency order will provide additional opportunities to move clean water out of the water conservation areas to the south.

TCPalm could not reach DEP, the Army Corps, Scott's office or the South Florida Water Management District for immediate comment.

"We want to take every step possible to allow the Army Corps and water management district to proactively address high water levels and move more water south and away from our communities," DEP Secretary Noah Valenstein said in Scott's news release. "While lake releases will continue to depend on the Army Corps’ water operations, the state is committed to providing flexibility to the Army Corps, while also standing alongside Floridians.”

Scott, a Republican, is challenging incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson for his seat.

Nelson's office did not respond to questions about the order.

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Scott's news release did not specifically address one of the largest problems: how to move the large amounts of water in Lake O and where to put it.

Wednesday, according to data provided by the Army Corps of Engineers, water poured eastward through the flood gates at the S-308 water control structure at Port Mayaca at a rate of 1.12 billion gallons per day into the C-44, or St. Lucie Canal, and eventually into the St. Lucie River downstream. Meanwhile, Lake O water poured westward into the Caloosahatchee River through the S-77 water control structure at Moore Haven at a rate of 2.70 billion gallons per day.

That was a total of 3.82 billion gallons of water per day, more than can go through the water control structures along the southern shore of the Herbert Hoover Dike encircling Lake O.

However, the first time in more than a month, water this week is flowing into Lake O at rate about 1.3 billion gallons per day less than it was flowing out.

There may not be anywhere to put the excess water, either. According to the South Florida Water Management District's website, water conservation areas 1, 2 and 3 all are listed as having "no additional storage" available. In fact, WCA3 is at a stage more than one foot above its recommended water level.

Also, according to the "Moving Water South Systems Constraint App" on the water district's website, the following structures have a "red light" posted: WCA 1, 2, and 3; stormwater treatment areas 1E, 1W and 2; the Hillsboro Canal; the West Palm Beach Canal; and S12 A & B. S12 A and B are "red" because a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service order is in place to protect the nesting habitat for the Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow sub-population which resides in the Everglades. The closure is required from Jan. 1 through July 14. S12 C and D, however, and the C-43 and C-44 canals are the only structures in the southern portion of the system under "green" light.

Mark Perry, executive director of Florida Oceanographic Society in Stuart, said Scott "can say what he wants about sending it south, but the water conservation areas are full for a reason."

Since the rains began May 15, farmers in the Everglades Agricultural Area have been able to discharge water from their farmland into the water conservation areas at a rate of 2 billion to 6 billion gallons per day, Perry explained.

"That is why they are all above regulation schedule," he said.

During that time, a combined 3 billion to 4 billion gallons per day has been flowing to the coastal estuaries, with Lake Okeechobee water being added to the mix since June 1.

"There is no room to put the water," Perry said. "The water table is set at 10.5 feet throughout the EAA right now. If the governor calls for it to be raised to 13 feet, it will flood those fields."

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