Monday, August 13, 2007
The
crest of a new wave for Lake Okeechobee?
Editorial By Daily News staff
Call it the vote heard ‘round the lake.
By the slimmest of margins, the South Florida Water Management District the other day turned down a request by agricultural interests to back-pump water from surrounding canals into Lake Okeechobee. The 4-3 vote means, at least for now, massive pumps won’t shoot millions of gallons of polluted water into the lake — and beyond, including the Caloosahatchee River and the Gulf — for the sake of farmers and at the expense of those waters.
The back-pumping idea is flawed on several fronts. The runoff water in the canals is full of pesticides and fertilizers; directing the water into the lake would be like giving an ailing patient a toxic IV. And the high price to the lake would come with few benefits. Even the idea’s supporters admit the practice would raise the lake level well under a foot.
The practice of back-pumping has been used for decades during droughts and is one of the many reasons the lake, and the Everglades and other bodies into which much of its water eventually flows, is in such dire shape. The lake is managed for many interests — drinking and agricultural water supply, flood protection, the environment — but the latter has always taken a back seat to the powerful agricultural industry. Thursday’s vote is the first sign in years that the lip service given to protecting the lake, Everglades and estuaries on both coasts is more than just empty talk.
Perhaps even more encouraging is this: The three votes in favor of back-pumping were cast by members appointed by former Gov. Jeb Bush. The four “no” votes were cast by appointees of our new governor, Charlie Crist, who so far seems intent on following through on the environmental-protection themes he sounded during his election campaign.
One vote does not a trend make. It’s just possible, though, that this shot could start a revolution in how Lake Okeechobee is managed.