A full lake, and only bad choices

[Guest guest]

http://www.gopbi.com/partners/pbpost/epaper/editions/today/opinion_c358c5631

17261dd10d1.html

A full lake, and only bad choices

By Sally Swartz, The Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Wednesday, March 6, 2002

Anyone who remembers the Sad Spring of 1998 in County doesn't like to

hear the South Florida Water Management District suggest dumping water from

Lake Okeechobee into the St. Lucie River.

Four years ago, El Nino's rains filled the lake to overflowing during what

usually is the dry season. To lower it enough so the lake safely could hold

water during the rainy summer hurricane season, the district dumped billions

of gallons of Lake O's dirty fresh water east and into the river.

The St. Lucie, usually a mix of salt and fresh water, turned brown and stunk

of fertilizer. More than 22 species of fish developed sores, lesions and

rotting flesh. Water birds got sick, died or flew away. Snowbird fishermen

and tourists disappeared.

State scientists set up shop outside Henry Caimotto's Snook Nook bait and

tackle store in Jensen Beach, at the northern end of County, to

collect specimens. Mr. Caimotto collected more than 30,000 signatures on

petitions demanding the rivers be cleaned up. Crowds of 400 and more crammed

school gymnasiums to yell at water bureaucrats. Col. Joe R. , who then

was the chief engineer in Florida for the Army Corps of Engineers -- the

corps helps the water district manage the lake -- apologized for damaging

the river.

Biologists found the toxic microscopic algae Cryptoperidiniopsis -- Crypto

for short -- in the water near some of the sick fish. A relative of

Pfiesteria, a red tide-type organism that killed millions of fish and made

people sick in land and North Carolina, Crypto presented no health

hazard to humans. Still, health officials warned people not to eat or handle

the sick fish or swim in waters where they were found.

Sen. Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie, then a state representative, got state

money for river and Lake Okeechobee projects. Four years later, however,

scientists still don't know for sure what caused the outbreak of fish with

lesions. Still, the outbreak subsided when the release of water into the

river stopped. Fungus is the latest suspect, said Ann B. Forstchen, a fish

health expert with the Florida Marine Research Institute in St. sburg.

State statistics, she said, show that fish with lesions have been reported

in the St. Lucie and Indian Rivers after large water releases through the

St. Lucie Canal in 1979-80, 1982-83, 1995, early 1998 and late 1999. So

that's why river-lovers worry when the district speaks of " releasing " lake

water to the St. Lucie. The district hates the word dump.

This time, the water district wants to do a series of " pulse " releases,

letting out small amounts of water from the lake over the next month in

patterns that mimic natural rainfall and runoff. Dropping the lake to 13.5

feet from today's 14.4 feet also would help lake plants that provide fish

habitat, and allow the lake to store water during the rainy season. The

releases were to begin this week, but the district staff said Tuesday that

they won't decide until at least next week. In the meantime, they hope some

water will evaporate.

District managers worry about forecasts of a new El Nino weather pattern

that again could mean above-normal rainfall. They didn't expect 8 inches of

rain in February, normally a dry month. Small releases now, the

justification goes, are better than the huge, catastrophic releases of 1998.

No one would worry if Lake Okeechobee's fresh water were clean fresh water.

But it isn't. Sen. Pruitt is asking for another $7.5 million for lake

cleanup this year, a fraction of what the job needs. The Caloosahatchee

River, which flows from the lake to Florida's west coast, has taken its

share of lake water this spring, and Ms. Forstchen confirms that some mullet

with lesions have been found since the water was dumped. The Everglades

Agricultural Area south of the lake is full. Next up: the St. Lucie River.

This is a bad time to dump, fishing guide Gregg Gentile said. The river

right now is in " A-Plus " condition. " It's absolutely jam-packed with bait

fish. Everything's spawning. The woodstorks are building nests on their bird

island. "

The district hopes to lower the lake in ways that help, district Director

Henry Dean said, or at least to do no harm. But the water has to go

somewhere. " We're doing the best we can, " Mr. Dean said. " This is why we

need to move ahead with (the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan). "

The restoration plan calls for storing water in reservoirs and pumping it

underground to save for later use. But it's years away. Mr. Dean is correct;

today's choices aren't great.

Still, I wonder. If the district, at the urging of farmers and utilities,

hadn't back-pumped all that dirty canal water into the lake during the

drought, would the St. Lucie River have to take this hit?

Sally Swartz is an editorial writer for The Palm Beach Post. Her e-mail

address is sally_swartz@...