Officials to let polluted farm water 'back flow' into Lake O

By Andy Reid | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
September 14, 2007

Water managers on Thursday agreed to let polluted storm water that washes off farms flow into Lake Okeechobee, with the hopes of boosting water levels needed to irrigate drought-strained crops.

A month after rejecting "back-pumping" polluted storm water that drains off farms into the lake, the South Florida Water Management District Governing Board decided not to stop "back flows" — which involve opening drainage gates to let gravity carry a smaller amount of the same water into the lake.

Back-pumping offered the promise of raising the lake water but threatened to bring with it fertilizers and other pollutants that wash off farms south of the lake, leading to algae blooms and fish kills.

Back flows bring the same water but in much smaller quantities without the same environmental threats, said Governing Board Chairman Eric Buermann. Back flows are normal district water management operations and should be allowed to continue, Buermann said.

"It's a dribble," Buermann said. "It's a drop in a swimming pool."

The board Thursday endorsed other alternatives to boosting Lake Okeechobee levels, including: moving water from the northern Everglades water conservation area, when available, and installing temporary pumps to redirect water that otherwise would get drained to sea back to western irrigation canals.

Sugar cane, vegetable and other growers — worried that this year's water shortage could worsen next year because of low lake levels — continued their call for any irrigation help from the district.

"It's a thimble [of water] right now ... but that can make a humongous difference," Alan Peirce, manager of the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association, said about back flows. Lake Okeechobee is South Florida's primary backup water supply, providing water for irrigation canals south of the lake, recharging the Everglades and helping refill drinking water well fields.

The lake, however, remains 4 feet below normal after 18 months of drought and decisions last year to lower it in anticipation of hurricanes that never came.

The dip in the lake this year led to the toughest watering restrictions in South Florida history, and without a significant boost before the end of the rainy season, the district warns that water supply problems could worsen next year.

The proposal to move water from the water conservation area in the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge threatens to add to the low-water strain already affecting the northern reaches of the Everglades, said Susan Sylvester, the district's director of operations.

"There is a risk ... that it's not available to the greater Everglades," Sylvester said about moving the water to the lake.

Andy Reid can be reached

at abreid@sun-sentinel.com

or 561-635-6747.

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Copyright © 2007, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

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