Lake Okeechobee water rushes out of the St. Lucie Lock and Dam on February 17, 2024.
BREAKING NEWS: The delay is finally over! The new Lake Okeechobee management plan, LOSOM, was signed into effect yesterday, August 12, 2024.
The Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual (LOSOM) will now dictate operations on Lake O for the next decade. For the first time ever, the volume and timing of water moving out of the lake will be managed by a plan that considers the human-health risk of toxic algae on downstream communities. That’s important progress — but our work is not done.
This long-awaited change from the previous lake plan, known as LORS08, comes after more than five years of staunch advocacy by Friends of the Everglades, VoteWater and others who called on the Army Corps of Engineers to embrace lake operations that would prioritize public health and prevent the kind of toxic-algae crisis that devastated Florida in 2018 and years prior.
Though not a cure-all, LOSOM is expected to significantly reduce (but not end) harmful discharges to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries at most lake stages. It’s also the first Lake O plan ever to acknowledge the need to send additional clean water south to the Everglades. That said, LOSOM still allows for harmful discharges to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries when Lake O climbs above 16.5-17 feet. Fortunately, Lake O is more than 2 feet lower than that threshold right now.
Brig. Gen. Hibner of the Army Corps of Engineers signed LOSOM into effect August 12. As we pass this significant milestone, Friends of the Everglades will steadfastly work towards sustainable solutions for the Everglades and estuaries.
