Okeechobee Release Environmental DISASTER

dpvandy01

Well-Known Member
Sep 6, 2007
2,535
Cincinnati, Ohio/Ohio River and SW Florida Gulf
Boat Info
2007 38 Sundancer
&
2014 Sea Fox 256 Commander
Engines
Twin 8.1L Close Cooled V-Drives & 300 Yamaha OB
So the Sea Rays are in Cincinnati but I have a home and boat in Cape Coral Florida. I boat in the Caloosahatchee and the Gulf and what is happening in these bodies of water plus the East coast of Florida is a disaster and 100% man made. Has anyone seen this on the mainstream media? I'm only seeing this on local SW Florida news. Nothing on FOX, MSNBC, CNN or any of them.
 
Red tide occurs naturally, starts offshore and blows in towards land. Been happening forever, just bad this year.
Caloosahatchee is adding to it , not causing it. Cape Coral will raise my taxes again this year regardless of their water quality.
 
I've seen this only because I follow things related to boating - I've not seen anything in the mainstream media. Seems I read at one point they were releasing or going to release water into the Everglades, but that was going to create other issues? Maybe I read that wrong. This is terrible, but seems something has to give, lake Okeechobee is a lot like the Mississippi River through New Orleans where they built the canals and locks for navigation and to control flooding. Problem is you can't 100% control mother nature and the water has to and will go somewhere. I guess the problem is all the agricultural runoff - that I am guessing is relatively new. I have to believe there is some political big business going on, there usually is.

I can only imagine the stench - on a much smaller scale I have seen freshwater clams die in our area when the lakes stratify in the summer - at Lake Tillery I have seen thousands of dead clams floating all over - the smell was unbelievable and forget getting in the water. I feel for everyone in those areas.
 
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Agricultural runoff is correct. Big Sugar is large and in charge of the releases.
 
Florida’s number one income is tourism. If the mainstream media reported on how bad the water is, it would cripple the Florida economy.

Red Tide is natural but, the billions of gallons of release water from the lake is obviously contributing to the massive disaster.
 
I've started to see it a little on TV during campaign commercials. There's a political candidate currently running here that is using this as his platform. He won't cave in to big sugar...until they pay him handsomely like all the rest before him.
 
Is the run off from the Lake O release going upstream to Sarasota Bay?

Prior to us leaving CLW in June I was hearing from some of the people who fish a lot that Red Tide was starting to show up north of Venice.

I think the major discharge that cause the Algae bloom to move down was early July if I am not mistaken.

We went across the Lake O waterway towards the end of June, did not see any more blooms than other crossings. Seems like it started building up in the Lake after we went through.

Saw the dead sea life on the national news last night. Horrible. And heard from friends in the Cape Coral area about the algae blooms. 8 inches thick in some places - wow. I have looked at the pictures and just sickened.

From what I have read agricultural, local septic systems, and lack of natural filtering effects that were lost after channelization all contribute to the Algae Blooms.

Red Tide - is a naturally occurring event. Both happening at the same time is horrible. But not sure I can connect the two based on how water moves out of the river and the timing. Maybe the nutrient rich water after it leaves the river goes out and gets caught in a backwater swirl from the gulf stream and goes north. Don't know.

I do feel like there is an issue with the Corp of Engineers. Another example of a mind set that man can control nature. Sounded like a great idea to channelize the Kissimmee river losing the natural filtert. Sounded like a good idea to cut off the natural draining of the Lake O to the everglades.

Sounded like a good idea to build a damn across the Atchafalaya Basin and manage the flow of the Mississippi river.

I do agree that actions of man have created/exacerbated a natural problem.

I don't see how people could blame the Florida State government - Corp of Engineers yes.

Question, as boaters would we be willing to give up the Okeechobee Water Way? What if it was returned to its pre 1930 state?
 
so sad.. saw this video today..
 
finally headline news on Fox..

its a shame. worked real hard to buy this boat last fall and now the summer is over. it is quite a haul north of Sarasota to find clean water.. at this point, north of Clearwater..
 
Saw an article today with dead sea life.

Such a beautiful area to have such carnage. At least the winter is short so some boating still left in the fall if this ever clears up.
 
I'm not gloating up here in Md. far from it. I wouldn't wish this sort of disaster on the environment anywhere. Or on fellow boaters. But I can empathize. I boat on the Chesapeake Bay, which is assaulted every day by man made pollution, runoff and sewage. Just recently rains were so bad the state opened almost every gate on the Conowingo Dam (which spans the Susquehanna River - the main source of fresh water at the north end of the Bay). Turning the dam wide open unleashed all of the debris, pollution and runoff that had been held back (and built up) by the Dam. Thank you, MD, PA and NY. Baltimore City chipped in with its' all too common sewer overflows. Nothing a boater wants to hear more than having NOAA and the counties send out water quality alerts telling you to stay out of the water.

So yeah. I can relate and empathize with Floridians. Whether it's big sugar, big chicken, big irresponsible development or big energy, there aren't many people paying attention to the environment these days. Well, at least they fixed health care, right?
 

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