The New York Times

September 8, 2013
In South Florida, a Polluted Bubble Ready to Burst
By LIZETTE ALVAREZ

CLEWISTON, Fla. — On wind-whipped days when rain pounds this part of
South Florida, people are quickly reminded that Lake Okeechobee, with
its vulnerable dike and polluted waters, has become a giant
environmental problem far beyond its banks.

Beginning in May, huge downpours ushered in the most significant threat
in almost a decade to the bulging lake and its 80-year-old earthen dike,
a turn of events with far-reaching consequences. The summer rains set
off a chain reaction that devastated three major estuaries far to the
east and west, distressing residents, alarming state and federal
officials and prompting calls for remedial action.

With lake waters at their limit, there were only two choices, neither of
them good. One was to risk breaching the 143-mile dike, a potential
catastrophe to the agricultural tracts south of the lake and the small
communities that depend on them. The other was to release billions of
gallons of polluted water into delicate estuaries to the east and west.

Following its post-Hurricane Katrina guidelines, the Army Corps of
Engineers chose the estuaries, rather than test the dike’s vulnerabilities.

As a result, the St. Lucie River estuary in the east and the
Caloosahatchee River estuary in the west, which depend on a naturally
calibrated balance of salt and fresh water, were overwhelmed. The rush
of fresh water from the lake and the estuaries’ own river basins, along
with the pollutants carried in from farms, ranches, septic tanks and
golf courses, has crippled the estuaries and, on the east coast of the
state, the Indian River Lagoon.

A breeding ground for marine life, estuaries are crucial to the
ecosystem. As algae caused by pollutants quickly spread and fresh water
overpowered sal****er, oysters died in droves. Manatees, shellfish and
the sea grasses and reefs that help sustain the estuaries all were badly
hit.

“These coastal estuaries cannot take this,” said Mark D. Perry, the
executive director of the Florida Oceanographic Society, based in
Stuart. “Enough is enough. This cannot continue to happen. These
estuaries are so important to us, our environment and our economies.”

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