September 7, 2010
They’re at it again – treating the Caloosahatchee and our estuary unfairly in favor of agriculture and lawn irrigation.
The South Florida Water Management District will vote Thursday on how they will manage water releases from Lake Okeechobee. Unfortunately, their staff recommended a method that will continue to damage our river and estuaries while benefiting agriculture and public water supply – namely, lawn irrigation.
We all know releases from Lake Okeechobee are damaging when they are too high. But they also are damaging when releases are too low, during the dry season. Estuaries need fresh water to maintain a healthy salinity level. So when it's dry, a certain amount of Lake Okeechobee’s fresh water must come our way to maintain a healthy estuary. Without that, water quality suffers, critical habitats suffer, oysters die, and essential grasses die.
The Water District cuts off water flow to the Caloosahatchee during dry times to benefit agriculture at the expensive of the river and estuary – without requiring any conservation or cutbacks from other users. Only the Caloosahatchee suffers, and no one else.
The same is true when there is too much water. The excess water is pumped off agricultural lands throughout the system because it suits their needs, and it ends up in the lake. With the lake level too high, that water is dumped down the Caloosahatchee. Our precious river and estuary is treated like nothing more than a drainage pipe, when in fact it is a fragile system of sea grasses, a breeding ground for many species, and a federally endangered habitat. Not to mention the lifeblood of our economy and the backbone of the quality of life we treasure.
The Water District’s staff recommendation, on which they tend to rely, will perpetuate the harm of the current system. Agriculture will get 100% of its needs met while the environment continues to be harmed, perhaps irreparably. It’s not fair. We pay the same taxes to the district; we deserve a fair shake.
Florida’s water system has been damaged by man, and until the problems are solved, everyone must share equitably in the potential destruction that has resulted from this interference with nature. If you can, please email the District’s governing board and executive director prior to Thursday's meeting (sample text is below). Tell them it’s time to be fair, that sharing the damaging effects means less damage for all.
Possible text for emails (it’s more effective if you add a personal sentence or two):
Dear Governing Board Member/Executive Director:
It’s past time you considered the needs of the Caloosahatchee and estuaries at least as much as you do the needs of agriculture and public water supply such as lawn irrigation. We are not asking for special treatment – just fair treatment. Our environment and economy are dying with our water quality, and your vote on September 9 can help change that. We pay the same taxes as everyone else, and as taxpayers and citizens, ask you to vote against your staff recommendation and instead find an alternative method for managing water more equitably, one that doesn’t treat our river and estuary like a dumping ground in the wet season and a salt deposit in the dry season. It’s time to stop leaving the environment as a last consideration and to treat all users as equal. It's time to implement the emergency storage options we were promised four years ago to reduce damaging high releases from the lake. Thank you.
Send your emails to:
Carol Wehle, Exec. Dir., Phone 800-432-2045 executivedirector@sfwmd.gov
Eric Buermann, Chair. Phone 305-446-0045. ebuermann@sfwmd.gov
Jerry Montgomery, Vice-Chair. Phone 561-682-6433. jmontgom@sfwmd.gov
Sandy Batchelor. Phone 561-682-6433. sbatchel@sfwmd.gov
Joe Collins. Phone 863-763-3041. jcollins@sfwmd.gov
Charles Dauray. Phone 239-992-2184. cdauray@sfwmd.gov
Shannon Estenoz. Phone 954-205-1132. sestenoz@sfwmd.gov
Kevin Powers. Phone 561-682-6433. kpowers@sfwmd.gov
Patrick J. Rooney, Jr. Phone 561-682-6433. prooney@sfwmd.gov
Glenn Waldman. Phone 561-682-6433. gwaldman@sfwmd.gov
