SCCF: West coast stakeholders concerned about lake

On June 28, the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation reported that Lake Okeechobee was full of water and blue-green algae, creating a dismal outlook for a summer without damaging releases The lake level had increased 0 40 feet over the previous week, bringing the lake up to 14 59 feet, which was well above the preferred 12-foot level during the start of the rainy season

It continued that the previous week's steep incline was caused by rain over the lake and in the Kissimmee River Basin, which eventually makes its way down to the lake

“There is essentially no water leaving the lake,” SCCF Research and Policy Associate Leah Reidenbach, who compiles weekly conditions reports, said

On the Caloosahatchee side, watershed flows were exceeding the schedule set by the U S Army Corps of Engineers of a weekly average of 2,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) at S-79, preventing releases from the lake

On the east coast, the Corps schedule called for no releases to the St. Lucie Estuary. The SCCF reported that releases cannot be made due the presence of potentially toxic algae near the Lock and Dam structure (S-80), which is connected to the St Lucie Estuary Additionally, no releases were being made to the Everglades Agricultural Area

With a shift to an El Ni o climate pattern, above-average rainfall patterns are predicted in South Florida for the rest of the year

“With all of these factors converging, Lake Okeechobee is going to be on the verge of reaching dangerously high levels,” Reidenbach said “That