Okeechobee Release Environmental DISASTER

Red tide happens naturally but this seem to be exacerbated by the Okeechobee nutrient overload/pollution.

That’s what I’ve heard/read. That the red tide happened, but the water lever in the Okechobee also got so high they had to dump it out the two rivers. The water is so polluted that it compounded the already poor conditions of the red tide.

And to the post above, no, this wasn’t caused in the last 12 months. As with most complex issues, there’s not one single, simple cause. Yes, nature brings the red tide. But we have to recognize that nature didn’t pollute the Lake or block it off. So we can’t just say it’s nature’s fault. That’s naive and irresponsible.
 
you're kidding right? take 2 minutes and educate yourself on the blue/green algae for crying out loud.
So your trying to blame lake O for this problem ? Think about the facts my friend. Do you think the river is more polluted than last year ? Do you think there has more water released from O this year compared to last year?

I own a home there and get all the local news. Please do educate me on blue/green and I will relay the info to the news media.

?
 
Red tide happens naturally but this seem to be exacerbated by the Okeechobee nutrient overload/pollution.

Take a look at your charts where the Caloosahatchee river empties into the gulf. Well south of where the Red Tide started this year.

Red Tide was starting to show up before we left FL back in June. The release of lake water and spread of the Blue Green Algae from Lake O started in July.

Not making any comment about the cause of either - much debate about that. But I do not feel they are connected.
 
So your trying to blame lake O for this problem ? Think about the facts my friend. Do you think the river is more polluted than last year ? Do you think there has more water released from O this year compared to last year?

I own a home there and get all the local news. Please do educate me on blue/green and I will relay the info to the news media.

?
perhaps my response was a bit terse and I apologize for the tone. I have a home in The Cape and all of this is new to me as we have only owned for 3 years. There is much unknown about the interaction of the Red and the Blue/Green. I watch Wink nightly and have read as much as I can consume. I think it would be short sighted to discount the lake releases as a significant contributor. Just my .02. And again,,, I apologize for the tone
 
Was reading an article yesterday.

The first documented observation of red tide in the gulf are writings from Spanish explorers in the 16th century.
 
Red tide has been around since there was salt water.

The “red tide” is one problem. The addition of waters from cesspool that Lake O has become are creating the ecological nightmare.

When the Army Corp decided to damn up the southern shore of Lake O they changed the outflow all fresh water in southern Florida. The effects from this action that took place nearly 80 years ago is now being felt. It did leave behind a fertile place to grow sugar.
Run off enters Lake O from cattle/ hog and other farms from the north and overflow from the sugar field full of fertilizers and weed killers from the south. Lake O has turned into a cesspool which gets dumped into the salt water on the west and east coast when the water level dictates a release. This released was unfortunately timed with the red tide and exacerbated the effects of the red tide with phosphates and other chemicals that drive the water quality to a level that can’t support life over a massive kill zone.

Red tide is a natural occurrence. Florida’s management of its “fresh water” is the “fixable” piece of this that can’t be ignored.
 
perhaps my response was a bit terse and I apologize for the tone. I have a home in The Cape and all of this is new to me as we have only owned for 3 years. There is much unknown about the interaction of the Red and the Blue/Green. I watch Wink nightly and have read as much as I can consume. I think it would be short sighted to discount the lake releases as a significant contributor. Just my .02. And again,,, I apologize for the tone
No offense taken, we are all sick about the releases and the declining water quality.
Also fruitless to argue our point with them, that we do yearly, only to hear that shit does in fact roll downhill and if it rains they will release.
 
Guys "red tide" is just a lay term for HAB, or harmful algal bloom....If you don't think that Okeechobee is a prime factor in the Florida issue, I don't know what to tell you. But, if you follow my page and review some of the links in the notes area you will educate yourselves....Otherwise, don't drink the Coolaide.

https://www.facebook.com/oceanproorg/
 
I live in Venice Florida and boat in the ICW and the Gulf from Tampa Bay to Captiva Island. The environmental and economic impact is devastating the area. We have not been able to go to the beach in just over 80 days. We live about 1/4 mile off the water at Manasota beach and the smell is so bad we must stay in the house on many days. Took the boat out from Manasota Beach to Gasparilla and Boca Grande and the dead fish, dead turtles, and dead birds made the trip a nightmare. The water looked like a scum covered brown sewage pool and the smell was nauseating. After getting the boat home I had to flush the bilges with a clorox solution and triple flush the engine to get the smell of dead fish out of the boat. Since then we have limited our boating and travel only off shore in the gulf to the north. Going south yields more red tide and dead fish. So far, from Siesta Key south to Manasota Beach they have removed over 100 tons of dead fish just from the beach. It is not getting any better as the winds and upper atmosphere flow keeps blowing it back into us. You all are fight about the lake release and big agriculture being greatly to blame, lest we also forget the sewage releases from Sarasota and Tampa (that we know about). Bitter, yes. I did not move to Paradise for this nightmare and the state and EPA are doing nothing about this. In order to clear this we will need a serious tropical storm or hurricane. Sad but true. My Sea Ray and I are very unhappy and the political recipients of the big farm handouts are ignoring this. This bloom has been with us since late October of 2017. Our pristine blue green water is now mud orange and black. Time for change in our rules and perhaps the Army Corps of Engineers who allowed the release needs to go away.
 
U.S. Sugar claims the water they release is twice as clean as the water they receive from the lake and put the blame on others that are allowing their runoff to pollute the lake. Blame game for sure
 
Sugar is only part of the problem.... I think part of the issue is awareness and understanding of our waste management in the US. I think most people are under the presumption that the government is doing what they are supposed to do regarding waste treatment plants. The issue is, the treatment plants can't handle the load esp. during times of heavy rain... Instead of investing in infrastructure they do "legal" releases where most areas don't even require them to state the amount of waste uncontained.... This is straight raw sewage going into rivers, etc without any consequences... This, not only is disgusting, but causes spikes in nutrients and bacteria in the water... To add to this disaster is the fact that in Florida you have a lot septic systems and cesspools which are not maintained properly....IMO, the issue is man-made and not solved because of lack of doing the right thing... While I am aware of natural HAB, they are not what are destroying your way of life...

FYI New York just released a "reported" 35 MILLION gallons* of untreated waste into the river....No consequences...

* roughly 53 Olympic sized swimming pools of shit
 
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I live in Venice Florida and boat in the ICW and the Gulf from Tampa Bay to Captiva Island. The environmental and economic impact is devastating the area. ... My Sea Ray and I are very unhappy and the political recipients of the big farm handouts are ignoring this. This bloom has been with us since late October of 2017. Our pristine blue green water is now mud orange and black. Time for change in our rules and perhaps the Army Corps of Engineers who allowed the release needs to go away.
Dom - Thanks for your report. We are planning our TN River trip back to Cape Coral for early October. Keep us in the loop on any improvements in water quality please.
 
Dom - Thanks for your report. We are planning our TN River trip back to Cape Coral for early October. Keep us in the loop on any improvements in water quality please.
I'll be in the Cape from this Tuesday until the following Monday. my wife has already said that the boat is staying on the lift!!! We'll see
 
Dan - look forward to hearing what it's like in the Cape area. My dock mate says the Tarpon Pt Marina area is not bad...
PM me your location and phone #, I'd be happy to swing by your canal and shoot you some pics and text them to you if you'd like. I'm over on Beach Parkway by Jaycee Park. Just east of the Cape Coral Parkway Bridge
 

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