DeSantis: Lake Okeechobee needs balanced water releases May 12, 2021 at 4:46 PM EDT - Updated May 12 at 6:31 PM
Gov. Ron DeSantis was in Fort Myers Wednesday evening to discuss the management of water on Lake Okeechobee and the ongoing effort to prevent toxic algae.
The governor said the Army Corps of Engineers decided in December not to release as much water from the lake this past dry season.
As a result,
Lake Okeechobee already has algae and water levels are about 2.5 feet higher than in recent years at this time. I told the South Florida Water Management District, you release all [the water] you can south [of Lake Okeechobee], and they are doing that, DeSantis said.
DeSantis says emergency order unnecessary over water quality, funds already available
Published: May 12, 2021 1:50 PM EDT
Updated: May 12, 2021 5:34 PM EDT
The Estates sit along the Caloosahatchee River which has seen visible blue-green algae in recent weeks, primarily upriver and in Lake Okeechobee.
During his press conference, DeSantis claimed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is not managing Lake Okeechobee very well right now.
DeSantis said, “The way this lake is managed is causing problems, it caused a lot of problems in Southwest Florida in 2018 and it’s caused problems on the East Coast as well in the past.” He said the lake needs to be managed better during the dry season to prepare for the rainy season by releasing water in the winter months.
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This week is National Hurricane Preparedness Week. It’s a chance for people to get a head start on their prep for this year’s Atlantic hurricane season. And according to the tropical storm experts at Colorado State University it’s going to be a busy one. Their latest forecast is for 17 named storms during the season, which runs from June 1 to November 30. Of those 17, researchers expect eight to become hurricanes and four to reach major hurricane strength. More from the WLRNand Florida Politics.
From Piney Point to Serena s Law, the story of Session was about the region.
Southwest Florida is home to a substantial portion of the GOP caucus in both chambers of the Legislature. So it makes sense that the region was a big winner emerging from the just-concluded Legislative Session.
But what does that get exactly? Plenty, based on budget wins.
The Heartland and wetland-rich region of Florida pulled in a large share of water quality spending, as well as support for various community needs in education and public safety. Lawmakers also stressed that some matters of policy passed this year that specifically serve Southwest Florida.