We've suspected this all along. Through independent scientific research, corroborative evidence demonstrates that excess freshwater discharges laden with nutrients act as a catalyst for the proliferation, frequency and duration of red drift algae and red tide in our back bays and near-shore water.”
To read the Lee County Board of County Commissioners response to the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement and proposed operational revisions to the Lake Okeechobee and Everglades Agricultural Area Water Control Plan, click here.
To read the response from the South Florida Water Management District, click here.
One way to truly understand the impact that freshwater releases from Lake Okeechobee are having on Lee County is to hear your neighbors’ experiences. Those who live on or near the Caloosahatchee River are really seeing the effects first-hand. Here are their stories.
To tell us your tale, email us at mywaterstory@leegov.com. And thanks for taking time to help us better understand the scope of what’s happening to us all.
South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force:
http://www.sfrestore.orgSouth Florida Water Management District:
http://www.sfwmd.gov
Phosphorus [P]:
An element or nutrient required for energy production in living organisms; distributed into the environment mostly as phosphates by agricultural runoff and life cycles; frequently the limiting factor for growth of microbes and plants.
Blue-Green Algae:
A type of algae natural to our area that blooms in the climatic and nutrient conditions it finds favorable.
Clicking a photo will open up a slide show of the photos from this section.
