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LAKE OKEECHOBEE: Fla. officials preserve southern flow way idea

An advisory commission yesterday upheld a potential plan to build a southern flow way off Lake Okeechobee, saying that any alternative to allowing water from the lake to flush down rivers is preferable to continued harm to coastal communities.

The flow way could someday move more Lake Okeechobee water south, forcing less of the polluted lake water down the St. Lucie River to the east and the Caloosahatchee River to the west, where it is blamed for environmental problems.

The Lake Okeechobee Water Resources Advisory Commission, which makes recommendations to the board of the South Florida Water Management District, voted to strike language from a staff recommendation that stated "commitment of additional resources to further investigate a southern flow way are not warranted at this point in time."

The decision, if adopted as policy, could influence the water management district's spending on needed Everglades restoration projects. Studies by the Army Corps of Engineers and the district show that completely restoring the flow way through the Everglades would be extremely expensive -- in the billions of dollars -- and would likely not work (Julio Ochoa, Naples Daily News, June 27).

"There is really no viable options for high discharges to the Everglades," Lee County Natural Resources Director Roland Ottolini said. "The only conveyance options are to the [rivers]. Obviously, we are looking for different options. At least to spread the burden around the system."

Water management district board member Malcolm Wade wanted to kill the idea of building the flow way. "We're giving people a false impression by telling people there is some silver bullet going south," he said, adding seasonal forecasts put water in such a spillway about once every four years (Joel Moroney, Fort Myers News-Press, June 28).

The spill-way is a way of confusing the issue and taking the conversation off the table.  It was DOA at the 10 County Coalition meeting. 

The fundamental issue is that there has been no data-based, science and economic driven feasibility study to make an intelligent decision. Non-science posturing continues.