Army Corps to suspend flows from Lake Okeechobee(what a mess)

Fox4 ^

[janetjanet998]

unless there is way below average rainfall the rest of the summer

there will be releases..just a matter of when..even if some flows south..just not enough outflow south even at 100% capacity

[Rebelbase]

I guess the Indian-Town Marina is SOL?

[FirstFlaBn]

“That’s not the way we did it in New Yawk.”

The real problem is about 5 million too many yankees.

[BwanaNdege]

We are going to change the plan as the situation changes.

[fso301]

Because of flood Control decades ago...

Flood control decades ago that successfully transformed Florida from fetid fever swamps into productive land has been partially undone by environmentalists resulting in the present mess.

[Rebelbase]

Excellent book about the history of draining Florida. Skip the introduction though as the author has a political ax to grind.

[Robert A Cook PE]

But then what happens when - instead of a drought/low rainfall through the rest of this summer and fall - Florida gets a near-miss hurricane (or several oops-it-went-up-the-middle-of-the-peninsula-hurricanes)?

[tomkat]

Very informative !

[babble-on]

Fertilizer runoff from sugarcane and orange groves triggers algal bloom.

Both are also a result of bureaucratic policies to prop up domestic agribusiness at the expense of consumers.

[Rebelbase]

The way God created Florida's water flow.

The way man screwed it up.

[janetjanet998]

This happens:

Lake Okeechobee dangerously high, dike threatened after recent rains

Posted: 5:09 p.m. Monday, October 09, 2017

The liquid center of the Sunshine State is dangerously swollen, reaching a 12-year high that threatens the fragile Herbert Hoover Dike as well as the grassy habitats that give life to Lake Okeechobee.
At 17.16 feet above sea level on Monday, the lake has risen more than 3 feet in a month with rainfall from Hurricane Irma and a tropical wave that washed through last week quickly filling the enormous bowl of freshwater.

https://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/weather/lake-okeechobee-dangerously-high-dike-threatened-after-recent-rains/J3CQODEKV6qp9KYckaC2oN/

[GOPJ]

"So the $64,000 question is why? Why?" said biologist John Cassani, director of Calusa Waterkeeper. "Those of us who’ve been following political decisions, the false narratives, the half truths, the broken promises to address nutrient over-enrichment, this is a manifestation of that. So to us who have been following it for decades, it's like damn. Why do we keep getting all these diversions and deceptions?

I'm guessing pollutants are being dumped in the region. Same as Lake Apopka... for years 'experts' said pollution was from muck farms - but if you go on the lake you'll see highest concentrations of pollution is between the spring and Montverde... It seems our 'scientists' are coming up with conclusions first then looking for things to support those conclusions... in short - totally backwards. And wrong.

[janetjanet998]

all

todays lake level 14.44
last year July 9th 12.44

2016 was higher then this year(14.89) ...that was the last “algea summer” on the coasts. with record winter rains in the dry season...worse on lake this year algea wise

[Wuli]

All of southern Florida was once a vast natural watershed that (a) could be flooded at any time, (b) acted as an outlet for flooding off any higher ground, (c) and was a natural break against tidal storm surges to any land further inland. The natives new that, built settlements inland and let the watershed alone to protect them.

Then modern civiization decided Florida ought to be one of the most populace states, and what nature made and needed had to be accomodated to that human occupation.

[janetjanet998]

JUst in
Gov. Scott to declare state of emergency over algae bloom on west coast

Gov. Rick Scott plans to declare a state of emergency following his tour of the Caloosahatchee River algae blooms in Cape Coral on Monday morning, reports say.

On Sunday, the Army Corps of Engineers temporarily suspended scheduled flows from Lake Okeechobee down the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers.

The Fort Myers News-Press reported Scott toured algae blooms on the state’s west coast Monday morning. The state of emergency is expected to include Martin and Lee counties.

“It’s frustrating right now and I’m sure if you’re a boater or fisherman or someone who wants to enjoy the water, it’s frustrating to see this in the water,” Scott said during a boat tour.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/florida/fl-reg-scott-algae-emergency-20180709-story.html

[Presbyterian Reporter]

Thanks for the maps.

No one has mentioned the sugar cane that is now grown on the land that formerly was swampland.

I guess the sugar cane growers are supporting Adam Putnam in hopes he will keep their land high and dry while huge amounts of money is spent to build new diversion channels.

[1Old Pro]

I was thinking similarly, ecxept I was thinking oxygen and pH adjustments. Treat it like a giant, back yard pond.

Yep, one would think "chemicals" would work, but no doubt they are "prohibited".

[billyboy15]

Go to pet store, buy a few hundred thousand Chinese algae eaters or Plecostomus fish, turn ‘em loose and say buy bye to algae.

[Fightin Whitey]

Anyone here speak bureaucratese?

Sounds like an excuse for erectile disfunction.

[WMarshal]

"And the enviros want to make it like it was before all the dikes and canals were put in place. Not quite as simple as they would have you believe. With all the years it took to make it, how many to unmake it? 🤔 "

One '500 year' flood and all that man built will washed away and then you leave it alone. I also think that in rural areas the should remove the levees so that flood pressure is reduced for the big cities. To support this the cities that need levee protection should be taxed to pay for isolated houses to be jacked up and put on pilings or, if the owner wishes to contribute extra, a masonry walled first floor for use as a garage with the understanding that anything placed in it is uninsurable. Anyone in a rural area of the Mississippi River that has their home severely flooded out washed Away should be bought out and can only use the money to rebuild on high ground.

Here is what it looks like when done right:

If the Mississippi can be allowed to spread out naturally in rural areas the big cities would be far less prone to flooding and everyone would be better off.