The Story The State of Florida is asking the Army Corps of Engineers for big changes to the Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual (LOSOM) that we do not support. Catch me up. LOSOM will determine when and where water flows from Lake Okeechobee for the next decade. During the LOSOM process, the Army Corps has indicated it would be responsible for dictating the movement of water from Lake Okeechobee when lake levels were above a “Water Shortage Management Line.” Once lake levels dropped below this line, control over lake flows would be passed to the state. Go on. Now, in a move that feels like an eleventh hour bait-and-switch, water supply interests are clamoring for greater state authority, demanding the [...]

Your voices helped us secure Plan CC as the foundation of the new Lake Okeechobee playbook. As the most balanced plan proposed, it was the right choice, offering us the greatest opportunity to protect communities from toxic algae events in the future. But we know there’s work to be done to make it a real system-wide win. As we enter the next stage of "optimization," we need your help again to make sure it's modified to benefit all of the impacted stakeholders. We've made it easy. By clicking the button below, you can send a pre-formatted letter to the Army Corps calling for specific modifications to LOSOM Plan CC that will help to provide true balance and protect our waters from future harm.

The new Lake O plan must protect Florida's health and environment. We’ve got more work to do. That became clear this week during two important meetings about the new Lake Okeechobee plan that the Army Corps of Engineers is developing. The Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual (LOSOM), as it is known, will determine when and where water is moved from the 730-square-mile lake in the decade to come. LOSOM will have a huge impact on the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie estuaries, Lake Worth Lagoon, the southern Everglades and Florida Bay — all of which have suffered under the current Lake O plan, which prioritizes sugarcane irrigation over the environment and public health. The Army Corps has whittled its choices down [...]

This is a big one. On Tuesday, June 29, the South Florida Water Management District’s Governing Board will host a workshop on the proposed Lake Okeechobee Systems Operating Manual, the new “playbook” being developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Painstaking work over the past two years by the Army Corps has produced six “finalists,” detailed proposals to manage the lake and water flow throughout the South Florida region. SFWMD board members will hear detailed presentations on each of the six plans — AA, BB, CC, DD, EE1 and EE2 — and take public comment. That’s where you come in. None of the plans are perfect. But Friends of the Everglades — along with a coalition of other environmental [...]