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A Congressman Wants to Build A Reservoir in the Florida Everglades. There’s Just One Problem…

April 25, 2016 - 12:45pm

Words that should trigger the red flag: “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” In the Sunshine State, it’s time to start waving in warning because U.S. Congressman Curt Clawson has arrived with a federal “solution” to Florida water storage issues specifically in regard to the restoration of the Everglades.

Sadly, his proposal is one that will not solve anything. To understand why, one must understand the challenge.

At the epicenter of this issue is Lake Okeechobee, the fourth largest freshwater lake in the U.S. To the south of the lake is some of Florida’s most fertile land for agriculture. In the 1920s, as farmers were just beginning to understand the value and richness of these lands, two hurricanes led to extreme flooding of this area. In one storm, more than 2,000 people perished.

As a result, President Herbert Hoover and Congress acted to prevent such floods from happening again. In the 1930s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) began the task of building what became known as the Herbert Hoover Dike (HHD), a 143-mile earthen dam that surrounds Lake Okeechobee.

Dan PetersonDespite the added protection and capacity the dike brought to Lake Okeechobee, there are constraints that limit how much the Lake can hold. First, the Kissimmee River watershed, a 5,300 square mile watershed originating just to the south of Orlando, drains into Lake Okeechobee, a 750-square-mile body of water. Second, during heavy rain events, the added amount of water to the lake can also present additional complications.

A series of canals authorized by Congress funnel some of the waters from the lake to the Atlantic Ocean. However, when water levels reach a certain depth (approximately 15 feet), the integrity of the HHD becomes threatened. To counteract this and keep the dike intact, the USACE is mandated to release excess water though passageways to the east and to the southwest. These releases cause damage to the ecosystems because they create harmful algae blooms and destroy submerged plant life. This, in turn, affects tourism, local businesses and the fishing industry, major pillars of Florida’s economy.

The solution to this challenge has almost universal agreement: excess water needs to be captured and stored before it can do harm. The “help” the federal government proposes is in the form of $500 million to build a reservoir to the south of Lake O.

However, the proposal from Rep. Clawson, who campaigned on the value of limiting government, not only does just the opposite by empowering the federal government to land grab from private owners, it disregards several important factors.

To begin with, it goes against logic. If the water in your bathtub were dangerously close to overflowing, logic would dictate to turn the water off to avoid a spillover. Would it not follow similar rationale to capture and store water before it gets to the lake, in effect stopping the overflow?

Second, Florida environmental specialists, both in and out of government who have studied this issue for years, agree that capturing and storing the water south of the lake will be insufficient. Millions of acre-feet of storage are needed, and the best storage locations are in fact north of the lake.

Third, Everglades projects that have already been approved are supposed to be funded through a 50-50 partnership between the state and the feds. To date, the federal government is about $1 billion behind in their part of the agreement. Instead of $500 million for an effort that won’t work, how about the federal government fund already-made promises they haven’t delivered on?

Finally, the agricultural community has been proactive and continues to lead the way on water quality protection through best management practices (BMP). Enacted BMPs have led to nearly 95 percent of the Everglades meeting a stringent 10 parts-per-billion water quality standard. Stormwater treatment areas have also contributed massive amounts of additional clean water to Lake O.

In addition, Floridians approved Amendment 1 to the state constitution in 2014. It authorized one-third of doc stamp revenues for 20 years be allocated for conservation land purchases, maintenance of current government-owned lands (Florida is already more than 28 percent in conservation), and Everglades restoration.

Recently, Gov. Rick Scott signed the Legacy Florida bill, dedicating $200 million per year from Amendment 1 funding go to restoration projects, the large majority of money going to Everglades projects. This money will recur for the 20-year life of the bill.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has mapped out a 20-year plan that will put the Everglades ecosystem in a sustainable status.

If the federal government truly wants to have a positive impact in Florida, here are a few recommendations. First, the federal government should fulfill its already-made financial promises. Second, the feds, and others, should understand that buying or taking (through eminent domain) productive farmlands south of the Lake would not solve overflow problems. And third, if you’re “from the government and here to help,” take time to understand the plans Florida already has underway instead of proposing new ways to spend our tax dollars inefficiently.

Dan Peterson is the director of the Center for Property Rights at The James Madison Institute in Tallahassee.

Comments

Unless Orlando stops growing and/or taxpayers decide they're no longer willing to continue the federal subsidy of sugar, this problem will continue to grow. We can't control Orlando growth so maybe it's time to work on the subsidy program before se start moving earth.

Typical self interest LSOS!

..Classic Big Sugar hit piece. Clawson is the only one brave enough to say something other than what the corporate welfare sugar billionaires want to hear. Save the Everglades, save Florida Bay. Stop these bogus articles

Sunshine State News is propaganda for Big Sugar. The Everglades are south of the lake and dying of thirst. Buying land that is contracted by option is not a land grab. Did the Mott's and Fanjul's hire these Journalists?

Makes ya wonder what could it take to make a congressman change from a small-government guy to an advocate for a federal water storage “solution?” Really? Is the real solution buying land to the south? I understand that this land could be very valuable but not for water storage. According to Treasure Coast Star, “The politically connected real estate developers in Palm Beach have wanted that land for decades and now they are making their move to steal it through eminent domain. http://treasurecoaststar.com/26370/188514/a/everglades-restoration-projects-proceeding-as-planned-but-captains-for-clean-wat

Gee . . . . . the author makes the case for trying to ensure that Lake Okeechobee doesn't overflow like a tub . . . . . . isn't that the solution that got us into this problem in the first place . . . . . . . . . or doesn't re-known Everglades Ph.D. scientist (at least in his own delusional mind) Dan Peterson understand that's how Lake Okeechobee actually USED to naturally operate . . . . . . . . . . by overflowing its southern banks and forming the River of Grass . . . . . . . . . . . rightwing pseudo-scientists . . . . . . . . PATHETIC . . . .

Ain't that the truth

The article's last paragraph gives not one solution other than let big Sugar do what it wants, and give Florida more money. What puts this article and it's author in proper context is the source - "James Madison Institute in Tallahassee". Google the name. In brief to this right wing, Koch funded, propaganda machine, nothing done or funded by the Federal Government is good - no matter how well grounded, scientific, or functional. Everything funded by State Government is good - no matter how corrupt.

This article is nothing more than the latest PR from Big Sugar. I can't believe some level headed people are seriously commenting. Of course the water must go south, and it must go south slowly and constantly just as the River of Grass did. Existing agriculture means we will never be able to completely recreate the entire original River of Grass footprint but we don't need all of it. With less than 15% of Big Sugars current overproducing land area, we can connect the lake to the lands currently in public ownership and create enough of a flow way to solve the problems. It's called compromise or, what our past governor called "shared adversity".

Why is Sugar going after Clawson so hard that they have to use JMI as a proxy to write their propaganda? Does he make them that nervous? He is independently wealthy and they aren't used to politicians who can't be purchased. JMI ought to be ashamed. Sugar policy is corporate welfare plain and simple.

"First, the federal government should fulfill its already-made financial promises." Where is GOP US Senator Marco Rubio of Florida? Hey Rubio, where is all the federal money promised to Florida?

So when will land be purchased? GOP Gov of Florida lies!

Outrageous propaganda! Misrepresents the facts. We environmentalists want to buy the land through the EAA for a spillway and flowway to the WCAs, not a storage reservoir!

What is so wrong with storage? There are droughts in this country!

Nothing is wrong with storage. But what do you do when the storage fills up and it keeps on raining or draining more water into the lake? (As it will in wet years) Then you need to provide a flowway from the lake to the WCAs to relieve the estuaries and re-hydrate the ENP and Florida Bay with fresh water. Without flow to the South, the water managers are forced to just waste the rain water to tide (ocean and gulf) and devastate the estuaries. Storage only works in dry years, to feed the flowway when rain doesn't.

Excellent, thanks for the comprehensive overview. I hope Rep. Claws takes note.

KUDOS for a great article. It is very clear and informative. Let's be sure that Curt Clawson never gets back into office again--or at least has to become a true Floridian first.

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