STUART, Fla. — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is considering "different release scenarios" of discharges from Lake Okeechobee to the St. Lucie Estuary ahead of the wet and hurricane seasons.
On Tuesday, the Army Corps told WPTV an announcement would be coming Wednesday. However, the Corps did confirm that they have been considering making releases as water levels in Lake Okeechobee are 16.3 feet deep, which is about 2 feet higher than they would like the lake to be ahead of the rainy season.
In 2021, a toxic algae bloom took hold in Pahokee, forcing tourists to stay away and businesses to temporarily shut down.
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"Currently Lake Okeechobee is high for this time of year and we must consider higher releases to lower water levels before the onset of the wet and hurricane seasons," the Army Corps said in a statement to WPTV. "It is important to have storage in Lake Okeechobee to accept water during the summer without causing lake levels to rise too high. While we are not making any changes yet, we are beginning to evaluate different release scenarios against current and forecasted conditions."
The Florida Oceanographic Society and Everglades Foundation groups told WPTV they've been in contact with the Army Corps about the possibility of water discharges into the St. Lucie estuary.
Mark Perry, the executive director and CEO of the Florida Oceanographic Society, said although there currently isn't an algae bloom in Lake Okeechobee, these releases can still be detrimental to the environment.
"Any kind of water release to the estuaries right now, particularly going into the spawning season in March for oysters and sea grass growing season and so forth, is not good because you put too much artificial fresh water into the brackish water estuaries and it really affects those habitats," he said.
Perry is also concerned that an algae bloom could coincide with their release schedule.
"The algae blooms happen when the temperature gets higher," Perry said. "We get more and more sunlight and we start to get more rainfall, which brings in nutrients into the lake."
Daniel Ladue works in the marine industry as an assistant service manager at the Ocean Blue Service Center.
The water is his livelihood, but discharges from Lake Okeechobee threaten that, he said.
"It is a fragile environment that I've seen be de-plenished and depleted over the years from these releases," Ladue said. "Just the sea grass and the ecosystem being affected by the releases, it's just sad to see."
Boaters like Ladue said these releases destroy what makes coastal communities like Stuart so special.
"Being a boater, being a fisherman, it is unfortunate that we have to take our boats and our plans elsewhere and we can't get in the water when the algae gets bad," he said. "It's dangerous."
For now, Ladue is hoping for the best.
Below is the full statement from the Army Corps:
“Now that we are well into the dry season and Lake Okeechobee is still generally rising, we are faced with decisions on how to manage the water on the lake, and the solution is never an easy one. As always, we’ve been coordinating with our partner agencies and stakeholders and soliciting their feedback on next steps.
Our strategy to manage Lake Okeechobee this dry season has been to reduce water levels in Lake Okeechobee before the onset of the wet season by maximizing beneficial releases to downstream users and environments.
The El Niño condition has resulted in above average rainfall this dry season which has caused water levels on the Kissimmee chain of lakes, Lake Okeechobee, and the Water Conservation Areas to rise during a season when they typically recede.
Currently Lake Okeechobee is high for this time of year and we must consider higher releases to lower water levels before the onset of the wet and hurricane seasons. It is important to have storage in Lake Okeechobee to accept water during the summer without causing lake levels to rise too high. While we are not making any changes yet, we are beginning to evaluate different release scenarios against current and forecasted conditions.”
