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Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
Indian River Lagoon
About Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
Jacqui's Resume
Sandra Henderson Thurlow, Historian
Todd Thurlow: Time Capsule Flights, Satellite, & NCCOS HAB Images
Tag Archives: Lake Okeechobee
Sunrise Rotary's 2nd Annual Water Forum, Public Health as it Relates to the River
Thank you to Rotarians Mr Larry Lavargna and Ms Elmira Gainey for co-chairing Stuart-Sunrise Rotary's 2nd Annual Water Forum, Public Health as it Relates to the St Lucie River. There are few instances where so many influential water voices come together to speak on the river as it relates to public health and for a question/answer period after each to boot. A excellent public forum!
I noticed that of all the speakers, Dr Gary Goforth had written out his talk, thus in case you were unable to attend, I asked if he would share. His words are included below. You can also find many of the presentations recorded and posted at Treasure Coast on Facebook.
The most powerful things happen when we all get involved and include others! Thank you Sunshine-Rotary!
2019 SSRC OUR WATER 2019 Booklet
2nd Annual Rotary Water Forum – October 5, 2019
Public Health as it Relates to the River
Gary Goforth
We are so blessed to live in Paradise! Like you I love this river, its estuary, its mangroves, its beaches, its near-shore reefs. But as many of you know, it is a Paradise with a tragic problem. Below the surface of this serene river lies poison.
Ms. Sandra Thurlow recently provided the following treasure: In 1885, Homer Hine Stuart, Jr. for whom Stuart is named carried around a small woodcutting representing the confluence of the North Fork and South Fork of the St Lucie Rivers. This carving showed the river as 20 feet deep at the location of the future Roosevelt Bridge. Imagine that!
Thirty years later Ernie Lyons described looking down into the River 15-20 ft through clear tea-colored water to a sandy bottom below.
The area behind us was known worldwide as "Giant Tarpon Kingdom" with regular catches of silver kings above 175 pounds. The world record was reported as 220 pounds, caught just up river.
In 1913, the State of Florida decided to construct a canal connecting Lake Okeechobee with the Atlantic Ocean. The primary intent was to divert the overflow of Lake Okeechobee away from its natural course south through the Everglades, thereby allowing the sawgrass plains south of the lake to be developed for agriculture. A secondary benefit was to provide cross-Florida transportation of produce and other commerce.
On June 15, 1923, the first recorded discharges from Lake Okeechobee passed through the newly constructed St. Lucie Canal, which connected the St. Lucie Estuary to the Lake. But an unintended consequence was the discharge of countless tons of muck and dirty freshwater from the Lake that forever changed the landscape of the St Lucie River and Estuary.
Within 10 years the Martin County Commissioners had asked the State to stop the discharges "for the reason that the continued discharge of a large volume of dirty freshwater has killed all the shell fish, driven all salt water fish from the river, filled the river with hyacinths and so polluted the St Lucie River as to completely take away the attractive features and ruin its commercial value to the community." (December 15, 1930 MCBCC)
The lake discharges drove out the king tarpons – the 150-200 pounders – and the small city of Stuart recast itself as the "Sailfish Capital of the World."
Ernie Lyons described the damage in this way:
"We turned our good, sweet water into a cup of poison and changed a laughing little river into a reeking abomination – in the latter part of an ordinary lifetime. Clean rivers are not "forever and forever" like the sunrise." (from The Last Cracker Barrel (1976) p 62)
As a professional engineer I've had the honor of working to protect the environment of south Florida for more than three decades – in the Everglades, in Lake Okeechobee, along the Kissimmee River and its headwaters, and in the magnificent estuaries –the St Lucie and Caloosahatchee. My wife and I raised three kids here along the St Lucie River and I've taught my two grandsons to fish and appreciate the incredible biological diversity throughout the river and estuary and near shore reefs. But unfortunately, we don't eat the fish we catch in the River because of the public health risk.
I recently had the misfortune of being in the emergency room of our local hospital. One of the very first questions I was asked was if I had had any recent contact with the St Lucie River.
During the 2016 discharges I walked along Stuart Beach with Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch and we collected the names and stories of over 100 people who had gotten sick after coming in contact with the water.
A beautiful dog, Finn, died that summer after morning frolic in the water. Several other dogs suffered acute liver failure, and suffer to this day.
2016 was a watershed year in understanding the relationship between the discharge of polluted water from the Lake and public health. The media began to focus on toxic blue green algae – particularly the microcystis form. While parts of our beloved estuary were covered in foul smelling neon green guacamole, the media began reporting on the effects of microcystis and human health. An Ohio State University study reported that those of us in Martin and St Lucie County have twice the national average rate of death for non-alcoholic liver disease. They correlated this high rate with one thing – discharge of polluted water carrying blue green algae from Lake Okeechobee. This particular form of blue-green algae – microcystis – carries a dangerous toxin that can cause serious liver disease which can lead to death. Additional human health risks have also been identified – Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and Lou Gehrig's disease.
In the last year – thanks to the efforts of Congressman Brian Mast – the Corps of Engineers acknowledged for the first time that Lake discharges to the estuaries carrying microcystis are toxic to humans, and the US Government makes these discharges knowingly and with the understanding that they are poisoning us – the public that they serve.
Numerous public health advisories have been issued in our region in association with lake discharges – warnings to the public to avoid contact with the water. But none have ever been issued when Lake water is sent south – the environmental conditions south of the lake are not advantageous for sustaining toxic blooms. So the alternative to knowingly poisoning the public are clear – send the water south.
Col. Kelly is now in charge, and we are truly grateful for his leadership. As the Corps revises its operation schedule of the Lake, I am sure that Col. Kelly will ensure that the public health, economies and environment of our region are given equal weight as the public health, economies and environment of the area south of the Lake. Hundreds of millions of dollars in economic loss are felt by the regions around the estuaries during years of heavy lake discharges. Public health is adversely affected. There is no acceptable level of lake discharges. There is no level of Lake releases to the St Lucie Estuary that is beneficial.
Lake discharges contain pollutants include toxic blue green algae, sediment (muck), low salinity water, and nutrients. However, even if all the Lake water was sent south, our beloved St Lucie would still be in trouble. Our local watershed has its challenges – particularly high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in agricultural runoff. Our watershed suffers from the same lack of pollution regulation as the Lake Okeechobee watershed: landowners are not held accountable for pollution from their property.
But the problem is not just ag runoff – WE ALL ARE RESPONSIBLE. For the St Lucie Estuary, approximately 5-10% of the total nitrogen loading is from our septic tanks. If you have a tank – have it inspected and maintained. Water quality data show an improvement in nitrogen levels due to positive actions taken by the City of Stuart, Martin County, Port St. Lucie and homeowners – conversion of more than 8,000 septic tanks to centralized sewer. The City of Stuart has one of the best programs for converting septic tanks to sewers: a voluntary system that allows homeowners the option of waiting until their tanks or drainfields need replacing before hooking up. But converting septic to sewer doesn't solve the problem of nutrient overload – it just moves the problem to other areas. The majority of the residuals from wastewater treatment plants are returned to our watersheds as "biosolids" that contain high concentrations of phosphorus and nitrogen. An article in this morning's Stuart News documented the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in dolphins, and the researchers attribute much of the problem to pharmaceuticals that pass generally untreated through centralized sewers and are returned to the watershed through biosolids. We still need a better strategy for managing biosolids. Sen. Harrell – we look to you for leadership in the Legislature to require additional oversight and regulation of the application of all biosolids in our watershed.
The Florida Legislature is the single most influential group that can positively affect the public health in the state of Florida. The Legislature has an obligation to understand that allowing continued pollution of Lake Okeechobee and the estuaries will directly and adversely impact the health of the public you represent. Unless the State begins holding landowners accountable for the pollution they generate, there is absolutely no reason to believe that our water quality will improve and as a result, our public health will continue to decline. No matter if the Corps and SFWMD implement all the projects on the books – there will still be Lake discharges of toxic water to our estuaries – and unless the Legislature reverses its direction, the water quality and public health problems will persist.
I ask Sen. Harrell to work with the Legislature to hold the state's Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) accountable for protecting our environment. Their current program for improving water quality going into the Lake is terribly broken. Pollution loading to the lake reached an all-time high in 2017. And compounding this problem is that annual DEP reports to the Governor and legislature and public are misleading – as they allege that pollution loads are decreasing – when the reality – as documented by the SFWMD – is that average pollution loads are higher than the Starting Period. For 2017 the measured phosphorus loads to the Lake were 60% greater than they reported in their annual report. For 2018, the measured loads were 40% greater than they reported. Who holds the DEP accountable for transparency and accuracy in reporting to the Governor, the Legislature and the public? Sen. Harrell – please demand accountability on the part of DEP.
USEPA recently established draft guidelines for microcystin in water. We urge the legislature to direct DEP to expeditiously embrace and adopt those guidelines to protect human health. We support Col. Kelly's efforts to prevent Lake discharges to our estuary that contain blue green algae, and urge him to adopt the microcystin guideline into the new version of the Lake operating manual.
I want to thank Ms. Thurlow-Lippisch on behalf of the SFWMD – for exploring more ways to sending Lake water south through the STAs, into the Everglades and on to Florida Bay. The SFWMD is also the agency responsible for collecting water quality data documenting the state of the water. Thanks to the leadership of Ms. Thurlow-Lippisch, they are initiating steps to establish a regulatory program that if done properly will hold landowners accountable for reducing nutrient pollution. The SFWMD will need our support as they develop an effective program – and we the public need to turn out and support them in their efforts.
We've heard Col. Kelly and others describe projects to be completed in the next 2-3 years. Wouldn't it be wonderful to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first discharges from the Lake with a promise to stop the toxic discharges?!
I'd like to end with a challenge for all of us from an idol of mine – Timer Powers – Timer was a former Martin County commissioner and water management board member and Executive Director:
"The greatest challenge in front of us is to take the steps that are necessary to assure that our younger generation has the rivers, the creeks and the critters that are at the heart of our whole society. There's not many people representing the critters, and if we fail to represent those who can't represent themselves, either nature or people, then we have failed."
So to my fellow clean water advocates – let's rise up to meet this challenge! We can do this people!
Thank you all, and to the Rotary for bringing us all together on this beautiful day along side this beautiful estuary!
October 7, 2019 St Luice River and C-44 Canal, UncategorizedElmira Gainey, Gary Goforth, History, Lake Okeechobee, Larry Lavargna, Program Stuart-Sunrise Rotary's 2nd Annual Water Forum, Public Health as it Relates to the St Lucie River, Rotary's 2nd Annual Water Forum, Stuart Sunrise RotaryJacqui Thurlow-Lippisch View all 17 comments
Documenting the Discharges, 3-17-19
*Please note all comments become public record.
1.Ed and the Super Cub 2019. Our "eye in the sky" since 2013.
2.Tip of South Sewall's Point looking north to Hell's Gate. Witham Field, Stuart, west.
We continue to document the discharges…
Yesterday, 3-17-19, my husband, Ed, flew the Super-Cub over the St Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon ~ twenty-one days after the ACOE started discharging from Lake Okeechobee on February 24, 2019.
When Ed arrived home, I asked, "So how was it?"
"Brown," he replied.
"Like dark coffee brown, or kind of like that weird mixed greenish-brown?"
He looked at me, and smiled. "Jacqui, it was brown."
"OK, I said, I'll take a look at your photos."
So here are the photos from Ed's flight from Witham Field in Stuart, over Sewall's Point and Hutchinson Island, then out west to S-80 to see the "Seven Gates of Hell" where you can see the one gate discharging now at an average of 250 cubic feet per second, down from an average of 500 cubic feet per second. As you can see from the SFWMD chart below, there has been other runoff locations as well, but the majority is from Lake Okeechobee.
ACOE Press Release: 3-14-19, ACOE, showing decision to go to 250 cfs to SLR/IRL. ACOE says they are "pulse releasing," however, these are not the "pulse releases" we are familiar with during prior discharge destruction events, as the number never goes to 0, it just goes up and down. https://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Media/News-Releases/Article/1784910/corps-to-continue-lake-o-release-plan-with-minor-adjustments/
Thank you to my husband Ed, for showing us that right now, the river is brown.
ACOE, Periodic Scientists Call, 3-12-19, http://w3.saj.usace.army.mil/h2o/reports.htm
3. Approaching the SL Inlet, algae covered remaining seagrass beds
4.Sandbar formation inside of SL Inlet
5.Blurry but shows boats at the Sandbar and that weird green brown color
6.Sailfish Point and SL Inlet algae covered remaining seagrass beds
7. Ernie Lyons Bridge, IRL with SL inlet and Hutchinson Island in distance
8. S-80 along C-44 Canal or the Seven Gate of Hell, boats going through locks, "250" cubic feet per second coming though
The following phots are of Caulkins Water Farm, a former orange grove that died due to citrus greening that now holds water from the C-44 Canal. This is a wonderful thing! As local ag-man Mr. Hadad, told me once, "Jacqui we spent 100 years taking the water off the land, and we'll spend the next 100 years putting it back on." The later photos are of S-80 again with view of C-44 canal leading west to Lake O.(https://www.facebook.com/CaulkinsWaterFarm/)
The following photos are when Ed headed back to Witham Field going once again over the St Lucie Inlet over the Atlantic Ocean. You can see the water looks blue north of Sailfish Point north of the inlet with nearshore reefs visible. Plume is also visible south of St Lucie Inlet. Also in photos is the winding Jupiter Narrows and St Lucie River in the area of Stuart and Rio. You can see Langford Landing with scraped orange soil and docks built into river still under construction since 2015.
Thank you to my husband Ed, our eye in the sky!
March 17, 2019 aerial photos, Uncategorized250cfs, 3-17-19, 7 gates of hell, ACOE discharges, Brown river even with 250cfs, C-44 canal, Destructive discharges, Discharges down to 250 cfs, discharging to lower for rainy season, documenting the discharges, Drainage, Ed Lippisch, Ed Lippisch pilot, eye in the sky, indian river lagoon, Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch, Lake Okeechobee, Martin County, Seven Gates of Hell, st lucie river, Super CubJacqui Thurlow-Lippisch View all 8 comments
Stuart to Chokoloskee; EAA Reservoir Between…
Pin is location east of EAA Reservoir area; Stuart is blue dot, and Chokoloskee is next to Everglades City on lower west coast.
The day began with smoke, smoke off the sugarcane fields.
Yesterday, Ed and I took a flight from Stuart to Everglades City, passing Chokoloskee and photographing the EAA Reservoir lands along the way. It is huge out there in the "Everglades," seemingly endless. The easiest way to get one's bearings is to look for the Miami and New River Canals that run south of Lake Okeechobee. Highway 27 parallels the New River Canal; where the red balloon is located above is the area east of where the EAA Reservoir will be constructed. For more specifics see link (https://jacquithurlowlippisch.com/tag/a-1-aerial/)
For Ed and I the flight, although hazy, was an opportunity to learn to recognize from the air Water Conservation Area 3, just south of the EAA Reservoir Area. The water conservation area lands are not located in Everglades National Park, but water quality is protected.
"To me these are the Everglades," Ed said looking down.
"They are but they aren't," I replied. "They are part of the Central and South Florida Project, they are not natural; they are controlled. When they are too full from EAA water, the water from Lake O is not allowed to go south. If too full, from rain, or otherwise the animals can drown. Trapped on the tree islands raccoon, and deer, and panther together. Terrible."
"Why can't the water just flow south," Ed asked.
"Lot of reasons, people like to say it's because of an endangered bird, but its bigger than that, mostly because we have chosen to make it that way, and powerful entities keep our legislature from changing it in spite of what the voters say." (SFWMD Constraints: https://apps.sfwmd.gov/SystemConstraintsDataApp/)
Ed did not reply.
We looked forward to what appeared to be little hills. The cypress domes of Big Cypress National Park reflected in the sunlight, and I could see "end of the earth" Chockoloskee right next to Everglades City in the distance. Pretty…
I can understand why people like to live down there so far away from everything. But they too can not escape our problems ~not with water.
WCAs: https://archive.usgs.gov/archive/sites/sofia.usgs.gov/virtual_tour/controlling/wca.html
Water Conservation Area 3: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_Conservation_Area_3
Big Cypress National Preserve: https://www.nps.gov/bicy/index.htm
Chockoloskee: https://www.florida-everglades.com/chokol/home.htm
Cape Seaside Sparrow:
http://www.wlrn.org/post/controversial-bird-should-everglades-restoration-hinge-single-species
https://sofia.usgs.gov/projects/atlss/sparrows/ibsemabgeer00.html#fig1
https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/seaside-sparrow
Water Conservation Areas
Smoke rises over sugarcane fields southwest of Martin County near the Palm Beach Canal
Smoke, canals, sugarcane fields
Belle Glade, FL south of Lake Okeechobee
Ed asked what this is. Not sure flooded fields, mining?
Flowing Highway 27, the A1 on west side begins to show. Now a Flow Equalization Basin this land was once the Tailman Sugar Mill and is located on the east side of where the EAA reservoir is to be constructed.
Looking west of A1 towards A2 where EAA Reservoir is to be built
A1 from another position
The North New River Canal to Ft Lauderdale now follows Highway 27. It once was in isolation as people used the canal to get to and from Lake O from the mouth of the New River
Water Conservation Area 3 (WCA3) lies under A1 and A2 area; although not part of Everglades National Park, it's water quality is protected:
Continue reading Stuart to Chokoloskee; EAA Reservoir Between… →
January 4, 2019 aerial photos, UncategorizedA1 reservoir, Aerials, Big Cypress National Park, cape seaside sparrow, chokoloskee, EAA Reservoir, EAA Reservoir Along the Way..., Flight to chokoloskee, Florida, Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch, Lake Okeechobee, lands to be the EAA Reservoir, Stuart to Chokoloskee, Stuart to Chokoloskee; EAA Reservoir Between..., understanding the water conservation areas, water, water conservation and central and south florida project, Water Conservation Areas, WCA, WCA 3, WCA C&SFPJacqui Thurlow-Lippisch View all 5 comments
Looking Back, St Lucie River ~Rain and Algae 2018
Even though the water in yesterday's photo looked gorgeous, lest we forget, here are some images of the St Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon area during a rainy and cyanobacteria ridden 2018.
Ed and I didn't start taking pictures until were motivated…
In March 2018 there was a tremendous rain event. (https://www.sfwmd.gov/our-work/flood-control/managing-high-water)
My homemade rain gauge showed over 27 inches in just a few days along the coast!
You'll see that after the rain event, the St Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon looks terrible even with out Lake Okeechobee discharges. This is caused by directed water runoff from C-23, C-24, C-25, C-44 and "local" coastal runoff. Naturally, the river never took all this water. Humans made it this way, and we must fix it.
SFWMD canal and basin map.
Soon after the torrential rain, the Army Corp of Engineers made things even worse and started dumping from Lake Okeechobee through the C-44 Canal into the St Lucie River by opening up the gates at S-308 and S-80.
My husband, Ed, first flew over Lake O on June 1st, just by chance. At this time, he spotted algae on the lake and took a photo. Ironically, the next day, the Army Corp started dumping from Lake Okeechobee on June 2nd!
The algae or cyanobacteria (http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/bacteria/cyanointro.html)
that was festering in the Lake began to show up almost immediately thereafter in the St Lucie River that has also become a "nutrient porridge."
The rest unfortunately is history. 2018 was bad, but in my opinion not as awful as 2016 when the ocean was totally green: https://jacquithurlowlippisch.com/tag/bathtub-beach-algae/
After another long, hot summer, the Army Corp finally stopped discharging in the fall~October 5th… Take a look at the photos and remember to enjoy the blue water when it is here, but NEVER FORGET! Only though looking back, will we have the determination to change the future.
Major rain event in March 2018. Rain filled this vile up many times!
SLR IRL following major rain event in March 2018. This is runoff from C-23, C-24, C-25, C-44, and "locally" from developed areas along the river and uplands made to drain into river. JTL
Following rain event in March 2018. A brown Atlantic.
Following rain event in March 2018, the SLR/IRL ~Scott Kuhns
Following rain event in March 2018 Sailfish Flats between Sewall's and Sailfish Points ~Scott Kuhns
June 5th. A very dark plume moves south along Jupiter Island, just days after ACOE begins dumping so this is a combination of all pollution/runoff waters…
LAKE OKEECHBEE DISCHARGES ADDED
Ed in the Cub after plume photo
Algae as photographed/spotted by Ed in Lake O on June 1st 2018.
City of Stuart, June 9 2018.
Rio near Central Marine, week of June 12, 2018
Photographing a manatee in the algae along seawall by Mary Radabaugh
Mary Radabaugh manages Central Marine with her husband. JTL
Mary found a dead baby manatee floating in the putrid water shortly after LO discharges. MR
LAKE O: Week of June 16th, June 25th, and July 22nd. Cyanobacteria (blue green algae) blooms and then subsides. ~All the while, this water is dumped into the St Lucie River by the Federal Govt.; the water quality is terrible and this the responsibility not of the Feds but of the State of Florida.
Algae is now very visible in Lake O, June 16, 2018 JTL
June 25, 2018 Lake O, near S-308, Port Mayaca. JTL
C-44 canal leading to SLR from Lake O.
C-44 canal leading from LO to SLR.
Satellite view LO bloom on June 24, 2018. ~At its height.
By July 22, 2018 the bloom in the LO is lessening, JTL
August 29, algae would come and go, throughout the SLR. Here near Overlook Drive JTL
September 4, algae still "coming and going" ~2018 Snug Harbor, Stuart. Photo by my uncle, Dale Hudson
October 5, the ACOE stops dumping from Lake O. The blooms stop almost right away but the damage remains….
December 8, 2018 the river looks "normal" again near Sewall's Point but it is not. JTL
December 27, 2018 aerial photos, Uncategorized2018 algae and rain, 2018 river in review, 2018 river update, be determined to change the future, C-23, C-24, C-24. C-23, C-44, canals, change the future, cyanobacteria, destruction of canals on St Lucie River, Drainage, Ed Lippisch, Environment, estuaries, Florida, indian river lagoon, inspiration, jacqui river, Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch, Lake Okeechobee, Looking Back St Lucie River ~Rain and Algae 2018, Martin County, Never Forget, rain event 2018, rain event effects on St Lucie River, St Lucie in review 2018, st lucie river, Stuart, when did ACOE start dumping in 2018, when did ACOE stop dumping in 2018Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch One comment so far
Florida Water, A Thing of the Past? SLR/IRL
My mother gave me a late birthday present: antique post cards and a bottle once filled with "Florida Water," a popular tonic sold for health and beauty around the world. Believe it or not, "Florida Water" is still selling across the globe, and has been since 1808 ~for 210 years!
It was poignant to receive such a rare and special gift from my mother because if Murray & Landman began marketing Florida water today, the product would not be so romantic; in fact, the branding would more look like war.
"Florida Water," a thing of the past?
Not if we fight to win.
TCPalm reporter Tyler Treadway holds a container of Florida Water in July 2018, Photo by John Moran
Posted on #toxic18, Florida's new image
Florida Water Cures: http://www.nydailynews.com/making-splash-old-fashioned-florida-water-cures-ails-ya-smells-good-article-1.828293
Florida Water, History WIKI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_Water
Florida is Losing it's Brand:
Graham Brink, Business Columnist: Toxic algae blooms from Lake Okeechobee are a stain on Florida, Tampa Bay Times: https://www.tampabay.com/news/business/tourism/Brink-Toxic-algae-blooms-from-Lake-Okeechobee-are-a-stain-on-Florida-_169667590
Julie Dermansky, Fueled by Pollution and Unsound Policies, Toxic Algae Overtakes Florida Beaches and Waterways,https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/08/02/pollution-policies-toxic-algae-red-tide-cyanobacteria-florida-lake-okeechobee
August 31, 2018 History, Uncategorized#toxic18, antique Florida post cards, Environment, estuaries, Fight to win, Florida environment, Florida losing its brand, Florida Water, Florida Water perfume, History, inspiration, Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch, Lake Okeechobee, war not beauty, war not ohealthJacqui Thurlow-Lippisch View all 5 comments
John Moran's "Florida's Summer of Slime: Stuart and Lake Okeechobee"
It's an honor to present:
"Florida's Summer of Slime: Stuart and Lake Okeechobee," photo essay by John Moran, August 2018
I reported last month on the plight of the Caloosahatchee River and its befouled waters flowing from Lake Okeechobee; delivering slime to waterfront neighborhoods in Fort Myers and Cape Coral along the way to the Gulf Islands of Southwest Florida.
Next up on our Summer of Slime photo tour is a visit to Stuart and Lake O…
Stuart and environs is a glistening jewel born of water. It may well top the list of Florida cities in shoreline per capita. There's simply water everywhere. Two forks of the St. Lucie River, the Indian River Lagoon, canals and peninsulas and islands, and the Atlantic Ocean beyond. Stuart is pictured above; below is neighboring Hutchinson Island.
But it wasn't Stuart's reputation for abundant clean water that drew me south from Gainesville with my cameras. In effect, I've become a traveling crime scene photographer—and slime is the crime. A devastating outbreak of toxic algae has once again hit the St. Lucie River and the Treasure Coast, fueled by the polluted waters of Lake Okeechobee and the Kissimmee River basin to the north. Damaging headlines trumpet the story to the nation and the world and Governor Scott has declared a state of emergency. It's déjà vu all over again.
My hosts in Stuart were water blogger Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch and her husband, Ed Lippisch.
Ed took me up for a photo flight in his Piper Cub so I could get the big picture.
Seen from a small plane at 500 feet, Florida is a beautiful place.
Here's Lake Okeechobee and the western terminus of the St. Lucie C-44 Canal. Administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Port Mayaca Lock and Dam has the capacity to discharge 14,800 cubic feet of water per second downstream to Stuart and the St. Lucie River Estuary, 26 miles away.
Sugar industry representatives say the water coming out of Lake Okeechobee is not the problem and that the algae outbreak in Stuart is primarily caused by Stuart's own septic tanks and urban stormwater. This claim is contradicted by the extensive algae mats seen along the C-44 Canal between the Port Mayaca and St. Lucie Locks, well upstream from Stuart.
Lake Okeechobee historically drained south to Florida Bay, not east and west to the Atlantic and Gulf. The C-44 canal was built in 1916 to divert floodwaters to the coast.
A view of the St. Lucie Lock and Dam, several miles southwest of Stuart. On the day of my photo flight in late July, the dam gates were closed, visibly holding back algae from flowing downstream. Look closely and you can see what some people call The Seven Gates of Hell.
The St. Lucie Lock and Dam are an integral part of South Florida's complex web of water management structures, born of an age when the Everglades was reviled as a watery wasteland and America was driven to drain it.
Below the St. Lucie Lock and Dam, in Palm City and Stuart, you can still find waterfront homes untouched by the algae bloom. But that's no consolation for the thousands of Martin County residents whose lives are in upheaval once again this summer. The familiar pattern of algae outbreaks is fueled by fertilizer, manure and urban sources of nutrient pollution, including septic tanks.
All of this is compounded by denial and neglect by elected officials and agencies to whom we entrust the important work of environmental protection and public health.
Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch took me on a driving tour of the C-44 Canal from Stuart to enormous Lake O, which is more like a stormwater treatment pond than a biologically healthy lake. "There are toxic algae blooms across the globe, but only one place where the government dumps it on you: Florida," she says.
It's not just the algae from Lake Okeechobee causing headaches along Florida's east coast; the sheer volume of freshwater discharges is an environmental pollutant that overwhelms the estuary.
The Lake O gunk visible in the satellite view, above, is shown in the detail photo below.
Fishermen are still drawn to Port Mayaca. On the day we visited, I counted nine.
Dinner in hand (speckled perch), Felix Gui, Jr. has been fishing Lake O for 30 years. "The algae doesn't affect the fish," he says. "They eat the same, algae or no algae, and I haven't gotten sick." Experts have warned against eating fish exposed to the algae.
A Martin County Health Department sign at Port Mayaca warns against contact with the water but I saw no messaging about whether fish caught in these waters is safe to eat.
Enroute home to Stuart, Jacqui and I stopped at deserted Timer Powers Park on the St. Lucie Canal in Indiantown.
At the St. Lucie Lock, a surreal scene of impaired water, above, and a vortex of slime, below, waiting to be flushed downstream.
A pair of jet-skiers signaled for the lock to be opened, and another pulse of algae-laden water is released towards Stuart and the coast.
Wouldn't want to anyway, thanks.
Further downstream, the algae spreads…
Nearing the coast, Rio Nature Park and the neighboring Central Marine in Stuart are slimed again. This was the epicenter of the infamous Treasure Coast algae outbreak of 2016.
Reporter Tyler Treadway of TCPalm gathered a sample of the polluted water from a canal behind the offices of Florida Sportsman magazine in Stuart.
Staff complaints of headaches, nausea and dizziness prompted Florida Sportsman publisher Blair Wickstrom to temporarily close the office in late July. "It smells like death," he said.
The Shepard Park boat ramp parking lot in Stuart was nearly empty on the day we visited.
A man on a mission, Mike Knepper, above and below, posts videos on his Youtube channel documenting the degradation of natural Florida.
"It's totally unacceptable to me what we're doing to this planet because we're very rapidly destroying it," Knepper says. "My children and grandchildren will be paying the price for all the bad decisions we're making today. I want to be able to look them in the face and say, 'I tried to make a difference.'"
Dead-end canals along the St. Lucie River with their limited water exchange have been hardest hit by the toxic blue-green algae, which scientists refer to as cyanobacteria.
A growing body of medical research links exposure to cyanobacteria with neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson's, ALS and Alzheimer's. Google it.
Meanwhile, we're getting conflicting messages from officialdom. Martin County has erected signs warning against contact with the water but the Florida Dept. of Health website, under the heading How to Keep Your Family Safe While Enjoying Florida's Water Ways, has this to say: "Cyanobacteria/ blue-green algae…are naturally occurring in Florida's environment and are also found all over the world. They are part of a healthy ecosystem and help support a wide variety of aquatic life." (http://www.floridahealth.gov/environmental-health/aquatic-toxins/cyanobacteria.html) In other words, Lighten up, Florida. This is just nature being natural.
An open question remains: What will become of the value of the Florida brand when the world fully sees what we have done to our waters?
Even in disaster, strange beauty emerges.
Greg Fedele has lived in his water-front home since 1991. He grieves for his loss. "I have three kids who can't enjoy the waterways of Martin County like I did growing up."
The sign at Ocean Blue Yacht Sales in Stuart echoes a wide swath of community sentiment. Asked to describe in a word how the algae outbreak has impacted his business, president Bryan Boyd replied, "Horrible. The last three years, our bay boat sales have been a third of what they used to be."
A roadside sign seen in Stuart in late July. If you're wondering what you can do about the ongoing crisis of Florida waters, we are called to consider our own water footprint, learn about the issues and get involved. And never forget that elections have consequences. Vote for Clean Water. (https://www.bullsugar.org/#)
What we have here in Florida is not just a crisis of water, we have a crisis of democracy and civic engagement.
From the beleaguered springs of North Florida to the sickened rivers and coasts of South Florida, we must understand that no savior is waiting on the horizon who will fix this thing for us.
It took a group effort to create this mess and we need all hands on deck if are to reclaim our waters. Florida needs environmental patriots willing to face down politicians funded by wealthy interests who think nothing of sacrificing our public waters on the altar of their private profits.
We don't have the luxury of time to get this right. We are losing our waters now. This is our moment. It's time to set aside our differences and focus on what is at stake, for this is nothing less than a battle for the soul of Florida.
The pictures don't lie. We the people of Florida bear witness today to nothing less than a crime against nature, and a crime against the children who shall inherit our natural legacy.
A long time ago, Florida political leaders—Republicans and Democrats in common cause—understood there can be no healthy economy without a healthy environment. They wisely enacted laws and regulatory safeguards accordingly.
But that was then and this is now. It's time to end the popular fiction in Florida that we can plunder and pollute our way to prosperity.
Gov. Reubin Askew said it best when he declared in 1971, "Ecological destruction is nothing less than economic suicide."
In this, our Summer of Slime, can I get an amen?
by John Moran
web: http://johnmoranphoto.com
email: JohnMoranPhoto@gmail.com
Feel free to forward or post this photo essay as you wish; attribution is appreciated. Please share this with elected officials and ask them: what's their plan to clean up our waters?
August 3, 2018 Guest writer, Lake Okeechobee, State of Florida, Uncategorized2018 algae crisis John Moran, 2018 toxic summer, Aerials of toxic algae, August 2018, blue algae, blue green algae, Bullsugar.org voting guide #toxic2018, clean water now, cyanobacteria, destruction of Florida's waterways, Ed Lippisch, Florida, florida photographer, Florida's Summer of Slime: Stuart and Lake Okeechobee, Guest writer, It's the Economy/ Environment Stupid, Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch, john moran, Lake Okeechobee, making a difference, Mike Knepper, nitrogen, phosphorus and nitrogen, photo essay by John Moran, Photos of toxic algae by John Moran, political water issues, pollution, S-308, S-80, slime crime scene photographer John Moran, SLR/IRL, St Lucie Locks and Dam, st lucie river, Stuart, The Great Toxic Slime Outbreak of 2018, Toxic Algae, voting for candidates that work for clean water, waterJacqui Thurlow-Lippisch View all 20 comments
#ToddThurlow #CIcyanoTrueColor; Lake O Tool-Kit
We all know, knowledge is power.
My brother, Todd, has programmed a way to present a running comparative of satellite imagery in an easy way for all to understand. These images are a revolutionary tool for the St Lucie River movement and for the state of Florida. They help us to understand, and put us in a better position to ask for change as we are up to date and we know how things work. And although experimental, the concept is on track. Make this link a permanent part of your Lake Okeechobee tool kit. Read here:
http://www.thurlowpa.com/LakeOImagery/NCCOS%20HAB%20Images/index.html
My brother Todd and I in 2016.
#ToddThurlow #CIcyanoTrue Color #ThurlowClcyanoTrueColor
July 31, 2018 Todd Thurlow, Uncategorized#ThurlowClcyanoTrueColor, #ToddThurlow #CIcyano/True Color; Lake O Tool Kit, #ToddThurlow #CIcyano/True Color; Okeechobee Tool Kit, #ToddThurlow #CIcyanoTrueColor, experimental images of Lake Okeechobee, HAB images of Lake Okeechobee, images comparing true color to colorized images, Lake Okeechobee, satellite imagery, satellite images compared, Todd ThurlowJacqui Thurlow-Lippisch One comment so far
Blue-Green Algae Present, Lake O Bloom Subsiding, SLR/IRL
Documenting the discharges, is critical whether by air, on the ground, or from outer space.
The two videos above were taken by me over S-308 at Port Mayaca, the opening from Lake Okeechobee to the St Lucie River, and over S-80 at St Lucie Locks and Dam on Friday, July 20th, 2018. The satellite images below, my brother Todd Thurlow provided, were taken the same day.
It is clear that the blue-green algae/cyanobacteria, covering, at its height, 90% of Lake Okeechobee, has run its course and bloomed. Now, as the "flower falls," we see what's left.
As seen in the aerials, and what the satellite images cannot portray, is that the algae is still there just lessened. Flying out over the lake a light green algae film remains over the water, a pastel shadow of its once flourescent self.
7-20-18, light colored algae, Lake O off eastern shoreline, JTL
The seven aerials at the end of this blog post were taken by my husband, Ed, this afternoon, July 22, 2018 around 4pm. The tremendous green shock is gone, but squiggly lines of nutrient bubbles remain, and blue-green algae visibly lines the eastern shoreline to be sucked into the gates…
Will another gigantic bloom arise? Another flower to replace the dropped blooms of yesterday? Only time shall tell…
One thing is certain. Nutrient pollution (Phosphorus and Nitrogen) is destroying Florida's waters, and unless non-point pollution, especially fertilizer runoff from the agriculture community, is addressed, faster than Florida's Basin Management Action Plan requires- pushed out 30 or more years, we are will be living with reoccurring blooms indefinitely.
A great book on this subject is Clean Coastal Waters, Understanding and Reducing the Effects of Nutrient Pollution, National Reaseach Council 2000, https://www.nap.edu/catalog/9812/clean-coastal-waters-understanding-and-reducing-the-effects-of-nutrient
Read below how Florida is trying to fix its impaired waters; nice try but no urgency. As we all know, there is no time to wait.
Florida Dept. of Environmental Protections Basin Management Action Plan: https://floridadep.gov/dear/water-quality-restoration/content/basin-management-action-plans-bmaps
Sentinel-2 L1C, SWIR on 2018-07-20.jpg 1,638×1,637 pixels, courtesy of Todd Thurlow. Visit his site here: http://www.thurlowpa.com/LakeOImagery/[/
Sentinel-2 L1C, True color on 2018-07-20.jpg 1,668×1,668 pixels, courtesy of Todd Thurlow. Visit Todd's site here: http://www.thurlowpa.com/LakeOImagery/
Ed Lippisch S-308 at Port Mayaca, the opening form Lake O to C-44 Canal and SLR, 7-22-18
Ed Lippisch 7-22-18
Timely quote for thought by the late Mr Nathaniel Reed 1933-2018
"…The fact that the Department of Environmental Protection and the Everglades Foundation have at last identified every polluter in the vast Okeechobee headwaters is an astonishing feat. The sheer number of polluters is mind-boggling.
The failure to enforce the possibly unenforceable standard (best management practices) shines through the research as testament to the carelessness of our state governmental agencies about enforcing strict water quality standards within the watershed.
There is not a lake, river nor estuary in Florida that is not adversely impacted by agricultural pollution.
As one of the authors of the 1973 Clean Water Act, I attempted late in the process to include agricultural pollution in the bill, but the major congressional supporters of the pending bill felt that by adding controls on agricultural pollution the bill would fail.
Now, 54 years later, fertilizer and dairy wastes are the main contributors to the pollution of the waters of our nation. Algal blooms are all too common even on the Great Lakes."
Excerpt, Letter to the Editor, Stuart News, 2017
July 22, 2018 Lake Okeechobee, Uncategorizedagriculture, agriculture nutrient pollution, algae blooms, Blue-Green Algae Present, cyanobacteria, documenting the discharges, estuaries, Florida, Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch, July 20th 2018 satellite images off lake okeechobee, Lake O Bloom Subsiding, Lake Okeechobee, Martin County, nutrient pollution, st lucie river, Todd ThurlowJacqui Thurlow-Lippisch View all 2 comments
Lake Okeechobee Satellite Images 1982-2018, Todd Thurlow, SLR/IRL
In my last post, I shared my brother Todd Thurlow's "Lake Okeechobee Satellite Images 1972-2013." Today, I am sharing his Lake Okeechobee Satellite Images 1982-2018.
Hmmm?
In 1972, I was 8 years old…
In 1982, I was 18 years old…
A lot changes in ten years, and an extra-lot changes in the 100 years we have not taken good care of our state's largest lake; this is now affecting millions of people and the remaining wildlife we have left.
Todd told me he did not "create by hand," as I alluded to in my last post, but rather he used a USGS website tool to do it, and then converted, and loaded to YouTube, embed, etc.
In the last video the emphasis was on an a visible algae bloom in 1979, in this "video" the dates of algae blooms are not marked, but you can see clearly blooms towards the end as we reach 2018.
Unless something drastic occurs structurally, socially, and politically, I am sorry to say that we are doomed to have more and more algae blooms in the future.
#VoteWater #MakeAllPoliticiansTalkWaterAlltheTime
SEE LINK BELOW FOR VIDEO:
http://www.thurlowpa.com/LakeOImagery/Landsat4-8_1982-2018.html
Sentinel-2 L1C, True color on 2018-07-15.jpg 1,673×1,674 pixels, http://www.thurlowpa.com/LakeOImagery/
Also see Todd website for updated satellite images he makes easy to access for all to see:
http://www.thurlowpa.com/LakeOImagery/
Previous blog 1972-2013: https://jacquithurlowlippisch.com/2018/07/17/lake-okeechobee-satellite-images-1971-2013-todd-thurlow-slr-irl/
~"The consequences of ignoring ecological planning and environmental protection could be economically devastating in a way not commonly foreseen." Environments of South Florida Present and Past, by Patrick J. Gleason 1974.
July 19, 2018 Lake Okeechobee, Todd Thurlow, Uncategorized1982-2018, changes to lake Okeechobee, Florida, History, history of algae blooms in Lake Okeechobee, Lake Okeechobee, Lake Okeechobee Satellite Images 1982-2018, SLR/IRL, Todd Thurlow, viewing the history of Lake Okeechobee by satellite, waterJacqui Thurlow-Lippisch View all 5 comments
My brother Todd looked through near 1000 historic satellite images to create this video of Lake Okeechobee images from 1972-2013. Wait until 2014-2018 are added! That will say a lot. But wait, it's interesting to note, that in this video, one can see a substantial algae bloom in Lake Okeechobee in 1979.
The state of Florida has known for decades how passive "environmental protection" would add-up, that Lake O is eutrophic, and sick. The lake was made to over-flow and we contain it. We should know, you can't contain an "ocean…"
It's time #Florida.
WATCH VIDEO, LINK BELOW:
Todd Thurlow:http://www.thurlowpa.com
July 17, 2018 Uncategorizeddecades of abuse to the environment, Florida, history of algae blooms on lake okeechobee, image of florida from space, Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch, Lake O imagery, Lake O imagery Todd Thurlow, Lake Okeechobee, landsat images, Landsat images of Lake Okeechobee over time, satellite images showing algae bloom in 1979, todd thurlow images of lake oJacqui Thurlow-Lippisch View all 3 comments
Is it Time to Address South Florida's Greatest Taboo? "Shared Adversity," SLR/IRL
LAKE OKEECHOBEE REGULATION SCHEDULE (LORS) http://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Portals/44/docs/h2omgmt/LORSdocs/2008_LORS_WCP_mar2008.pdf
The second she said it, I was at full attention. This past Tuesday, Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation Director, Ms. Rae Ann Wessel, spoke on the Army Corps of Engineers Periodic Scientists Call. In seven years of listening, in seven years of agency and public comment, I had never heard, seriously, and scientifically, someone address South Florida's greatest taboo.
Ms Wessel said something like this:
Part of the LORS (Lake Okeechobee Release Schedule 2008) addresses "shared adversity." Lake Okeechobee is approximately 470,000 acres. Would it be possible to put the water the Corps plans to release from the lake over approximately 484,000 acres of crop lands just south of the lake, rather than into estuaries? The Caloosahatchee algae situation is already at its absolute worst…
You could hear a pin drop…
Wessel was recommending options to the Army Corps and stakeholders regarding the ACOE restarting discharges to the estuaries. Since the previous week's call, due to NOAA images showing 90% of the lake covered in cyanobacteria blooms, and crisis of algae in both estuaries, the Governor and other powerful politicians asked the federal agency to temporarily stop discharges considering all options before discharging, once again.
Just the previous day, before Wessel's comment, after viewing the putrid algal mess in the Caloosahatchee, Gov. Rick Scott called for a State of Emergency encompassing seven counties.
Some history, earlier this year, the Caloosahatchee was almost begging the South Florida Water Management District and ACOE for water, but was denied. Now the Caloosahatchee is receiving so much water, with algae to boot, that they are experiencing a toxic summer similar to what the St Lucie experienced in 2016. The Caloosahatchee has had it especially tough this year.
The elephant in the room, or perhaps better described as the Tyrannosaurus rex in the room, is that with Lake Okeechobee over 14 feet, and the fact that we are now approaching the most turbulent part of hurricane season, the ACOE "has to start releasing again," like now! And everybody knows this.
Therefore, Rae Ann was looking for options, for sharing adversity, and this was fair as the Calloosahatchee has bore most of the adversity this year. She wasn't talking about flooding the cities in the EAA, she was inquiring about flooding the fields, by less than a foot of water that would evaporate quickly at that extension and depth, maybe stressing but not killing the crops. Sugarcane in particular, is a hardy and durable crop for intermittent periods of water.
Shared adversity… Certainly, the estuaries have have their "fair" share…
So why does the ACOEhave to dump to the estuaries? Why is it taboo to talk about flooding the fields? Because although the 2008 LORS talks about shared adversity the EAA is federally protected by an older and more important document.
The ACOE in not a teacher picking favorites, they are the military taking orders from Congress.
The federal "law," connected to the Central and South Florida Project (http://141.232.10.32/about/restudy_csf_devel.aspx) is complex, but perhaps best explained by sharing an excerpt from the book, River of Interests, by the Army Corp of Engineers. Page 35, discusses the 1948 Central and South Florida Project, what it did, and requires of the ACOE.(http://sccf.org/downloadable-files/5b465bf85f38152b048d1cce.pdf)
First, the Corps would build a levee from northwest Palm Beach County to the south of Dade County along the east coast, thereby preventing flooding from the Everglades to the coastal communities. Second, the Corps would modify control facilities and levees around Lake Okeechobee in order to create more water storage, and it would increase the discharge capacity from the lake in order to prevent flooding. Third, the Corps would create three water conservation areas in Palm Beach, Broward and Dade counties for water storage. Fourth, the Corps would construct canals, levees, and pumping stations to protect 700,000 acres of agriculture south of Lake Okeechobee in Palm Beach, Hendry, and Glades counties, known as the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA). Fifth, the Corps would build canals and water control structures to handle drainage in Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Martin, and St. Lucie counties.
This bolded section is the key, this is why Rae Ann Wessel's question rung so loudly in the silence of the ACOE call. For the ACOE, it is "understood," that no matter the case, even with LORS, and in spite of "shared adversity," that 700,000 acres of agriculture fields, south of Lake Okeechobee is to be protected from flooding destruction.
But as we all know, nothing lasts forever.
Just like other laws of our great county, some do, indeed over time, become outdated for the times. Things change. Among other issues, in 1950, when the Central and South Flood Project law was structured and voted upon to protect the crops in the EAA as part of flood control 2.81 million people lived in Florida. Today, 20 million people reside here. In the old days, the discharges did not have the impact as they do today, the rivers were healthier, and the Lake, it wasn't so polluted. But now, seventy years later, water quality, pollution, and human health issues have risen to a point of question. "In emergency situations", is discharging cyanobacteria water from Lake Okeechobee into the now heavily populated areas along the estuaries to prevent flooding of the Everglades Agricultural Area in the state's best interest, or is it archaic, like the T-Rex in the room?
It might be time to re-evaluate South Florida's greatest taboo.
s.wordpress.com/2018/07/img_2525.jpg"> Caloosahatchee algae bloom 7-6-18, photo courtesy Dave Stone.
[/caption]Links:
What is the Everglades Agricultural Area: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everglades_Agricultural_Area
Gov.Rick Scott State of Emergency proclamation: https://www.flgov.com/2018/07/09/gov-scott-issues-emergency-order-to-combat-algal-blooms-in-south-florida/
SCCF: (https://fortmyersbeach.news/rae-anne-wessel-of-sanibel-captiva-conservation-foundation/)
What are the ACOE Periodic Scientists Calls? Former blog post 2014: https://jacquithurlowlippisch.com/2014/03/06/the-acoes-periodic-scientists-call-and-the-indian-river-lagoon/
July 12, 2018 Lake Okeechobee, Uncategorized" SLR/IRL, 2018 state of emergency algae bloom in lake okeechobee, ACOE, ACOE Central and Southern Florida Project Part IV., ACOE Periodic Scientist Calls, algae crisis in florida, Army Corp of Engineers, C&SFP, Drainage, EAA, Environment, Flooding the fields during crisis of the estuaries, Florida, Is it Time to Address South Florida's Greatest Taboo, Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch, Lake Okeechobee, LORS, Protections under the Central and South Florida Project, rae ann wessel, requirements of the Central and South Florida Project, River of Interests, SCCF, shared adversity, south florida's greatest taboo, state of emergency algae, state of emergency gov. rick scott, updating water policyJacqui Thurlow-Lippisch View all 7 comments
A Tear for Lake Okeechobee, SLR/IRL
Ed and I have just returned from vacation. Ironically leaving June 28th, the day the ACOE announced a nine-day reprieve due to algae in Lake Okeechobee; and returning July 8, the day before the ACOE may open S-308 into the St Lucie River once again.
It was a great trip and the weather was excellent.
Ed was our pilot, and we flew with stops from Stuart to Michigan. It was remarkable to sit in the airplane and see the land below me ~ever changing from swampland, to farmland, to cites, to forest, to mountains, to rivers, and peppered with hundreds of lakes….
When we finally approached the Great Lakes Region, I was looking for the algae I had read so much about, and yes, there were some lakes turned green. But not in the vast northern waters of Lake Michigan, or Lake Huron, these lakes were deep mirrors of blue.
"The water here looks like the Bahamas," Ed noted. We both looked in wonder at their hue.
Sometimes, I awoke at night, thinking of home. Thinking about how there is nothing like it, in spite of the many wonders of our great county. In spite of the beautiful, blue, icy waters of Lake Michigan.
On the way home to Stuart, I asked Ed if we could fly inland over Lake Okeechobee just to see. It was midday and the clouds had popped up and I knew we'd have to do my least favorite thing, fly though them. As the turbulence engulfed the airplane, I closed my eyes and prayed. And then finally, as always, we were through.
The lake opened up before us like an ocean.
I could clearly see the algae at about three thousand feet. It was visible roughly a mile off the lake's east coast out into the lake for as far as the eye could see. Ed flew west and then circled around. The green masses of algae had been pushed into geometric designs by the wind, and they were everywhere. We flew for miles over the middle of the lake and beyond. To my surprise, the repetitive, endless, formations of cyanobacteria caused something unexpected to happen. Rather than my usual disgust, or anger for the destruction of the St Lucie, I felt myself begin to tear-up. "This poor lake," I thought to myself. "I know you were once so beautiful even mythical; what have we done to you?
Just unbelievable…"
I wiped the tear from my eye, so sad for what is happening to the waters of my beloved Florida. Ed turned the plane, and we headed home…
S-308 algae was visible about a mile off the east coast of the lake and on and off, sometimes heavy, inside of the S-308 structure and in the C-44 canal to S-80 at St Lucie Locks and Dam.
S-80 was open and algae could be seen going through the gates from the C-44 canal
Home at last. Sewall's Point Park River Kidz FDOT recycled sign art
All photos take on July 7, 2018, 3pm. JTL/EL
July 8, 2018 Lake Okeechobee, Uncategorized90% algae on lake, ACOE, aerials lake okeechobee algae, Algae on Lake Okeechobee June 7, Army Corp of Engineers, C-44, indian river lagoon, Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch, Lake Okeechobee, No Place Like Home; Our Fight for the St Lucie River and Lake Okeechobee, st lucie river, what have we done?Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch View all 11 comments
Masses of Algae Pressing the Gates; Will ACOE Discharge Tomorrow? SLR/IRL
6-24-18, (Sunday)
I am posting this, not because I want to but because I have to. I much rather be enjoying the day instead of once again sitting at my computer. But time is of the essence.
This morning I read a comment by TcPalm reporter, Ed Killer, on Facebook stating the ACOE's pulse release schedule for the St Lucie River.
Ed KillerThe Corps gave me this today
Sat- 0
Sun- 0
Mon- 1270 cfs
Tues- 2000
Wed- 2100
Thu- 1650
If this is true, and with Ed Killer posting, I believe it is, the ACOE will start releasing again Monday, 6-25-18. I did not know this until I read his post.
Today, my husband Ed and I were flying other people over Florida as usual, and during our flight I took this video expecting maybe some algae in C-44 but instead also found the gigantic bloom against the gates of S-308 in Lake Okeechobee leading into C-44/SLR.
So I wrote on Facebook:
I am so over this, but cannot fail to report. According to Ed Killer ACOE will start discharging from Lake O tomorrow in spite of Governor's Emergency Order. Look at this algae mess waiting at gates of Port Mayaca. Write ACOE's LTC Jennifer Reynolds and politely ask for ACOE to wait and to have DEP test again: jennifer.a.reynolds@usace.army.mil (JTL-S-308 video taken 6-24-15 at 12pm) #toxic2018
As Monday is tomorrow, and I fly to DC with the River Kidz tomorrow, I am posting this now. I truly believe considering the circumstances, that the ACOE should refrain from discharging at S-308 or S-80. And the state's FDEP (Florida Department of Environmental Protection) should have this water tested, again, as bloom has changed.
To just dump this on the people of Martin County along the St Lucie River is a crime.
PLEASE WATCH THE VIDEO
The recognizable shape of S-308 the entrance to C-44 and the SLR. Lake O's connection to the river—obvious massive algae bloom at gates.
Bloom as satellites show is throughout and scattered in lake. This shot is looking more towards middle of lake in southern area.
Entrance to Caloosahatchee on west side of lake and near Clewiston Bloom is all through lake.
June 24, 2018 Lake Okeechobee, UncategorizedACOE, algae waiting at gate, Army Corp of Engineers, Ed Killer, Environment, Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch, Lake Okeechobee, Martin County, Masses of Algae at the Gates; Will ACOE Discharge Tomorrow? SLR/IRL, Masses of Algae Pressing the Gates; Will ACOE Discharge Tomorrow?, S-308, st lucie river, Toxic Algae, water, wil army corp dump when huge algae bloomJacqui Thurlow-Lippisch View all 15 comments
102 Sq. Mile Algae Bloom in Lake Okeechobee, 6-16-18
AlgaeBloom06-15-2018SWIR, Todd Thurlow
I could never do what I do without the people who help me. My husband, his pilot friends, the everyday people sending me "toxic-algae" imagery, the River Warriors community, and when it comes to striking the bull's-eye, my science-studied-lawyer, little brother, Todd.
Just hours ago, Todd forwarded these images from satellites, Landsat 7, and Sentinel 2, clearly showing a large algae bloom photographed yesterday in Lake Okeechobee. 102 square-miles of it!
So Florida state agencies, and others…
…Do not tell me the algae comes from our river. It does not. We have been through this before….
The algae, that can become toxic, and maybe already is, starts in, and comes from the crock-pot of Lake Okeechobee. The Army Corp of Engineers should stop discharging right now. Right when the Colonel sees these images. And these images have been seen, because NASA makes these images available to the Corp.
When a satellite image like this is made public, it cannot be ignored.
The ACOE should close the gates of S-308 until DEP has tested all edges of this large bloom. And work for never discharging when there is an algae bloom in Lake Okeechobee.
Stop the discharges from Lake Okeechobee!
LE07_L1TP_015041_20180614_20180614_01_RT-crop
Sentinel-2 L1C from 2018-06-15
Sentinel-2 L1C SWIR from 2018-06-15
Sentinel-2 L1C NDVI from 2018-06-15
Sentinel-2 L1C SWIR crop from 2018-
Sentinel-2 L1C NDVI crop from 2018-06-15
See this link of Todd's for site with more satellite imagery: http://www.thurlowpa.com/LakeOImagery/
#toxic2018
June 16, 2018 Lake Okeechobee, Todd Thurlow, Uncategorized102 Sq. Mile Algae Bloom in Lake Okeechobee, 102 square mile algae bloom, 6-16-18, bloom, Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch, June 20188 algae bloom in Lake Okeechobee, Lake O algae, Lake Okeechobee, Landsat 7 satellite, Martin County, Satellites' Show 102 Sq. Mile Algae Bloom in Lake Okeechobee, Todd Thurlow, Todd Thurlow 102 square miles algae bloom in lake o, Toxic AlgaeJacqui Thurlow-Lippisch View all 2 comments
Satellite Images of Lake O, What Do They Reveal? SLR/ IRL 6-7-18
Since the ACOE and SFWMD have yet to develop public satellite imagery of algal bloom development in Lake Okeechobee with NOAA during rainy season, I go to my brother Todd. Ever since we were kids, he's loved science and technology.
I have been bugging him lately for a satellite image…
6-4-18, Jacqui : Todd do you know when last high-resolution satellite photograph was taken of lake o and how to access this photo? Thank you.
6-4-18 Todd: Should have been a Landsat 8 image on 5/21 but it is not available for some reason. The Landsat 7 image from 5/29 is so bad because of the broken instrument that is not usable. Preview here, I would have to "order" high res but not worth it.
6-5-18 Jacqui : Thanks Todd
6-6-18, Todd: Hey Jac, the European sentinel-2 satellite took a good image yesterday. I will post it to my page tonight and add sentinel to the Landsat folder. It doesn't show anything though. The sentinel-3 satellite took an interesting chlorophyll wavelength shot showing returns in the southern lake. However, it doesn't seem terribly accurate because the returns over time have been all over the place. I will have to study more up on those types of images.
Sentinel-2 L1C, SWIR on 2018-06-05
Sentinel-2 L1C, True color on 2018-06-05
6-6-18, Jacqui: Well thanks Todd, thankfully that must mean at least for these images the algae is not so much that it's visible to the satellite in space but we know some is there from 1st hand. This is good news for now. Can we keep getting images? Why ACOE and SFWMD don't have and report on regularly is ridiculous.
6-6-18, Todd: …..
6-7-18 Jacqui: Hey Todd, the Terra image that is in today do you think that is algae or a cloud east of FPL Pond? Know hard to tell w/lower res.
Todd and I will keep you posted.
For more, go to Todd's website, look for Firm Favorites; St Lucie River Discharges; Latest Lake O Satellite Imagery:http://www.thurlowpa.com
June 7, 2018 Guest writer, Uncategorizedjune satellite images off lake okeechobee, keeping an eye on Lake O, Lake O satellite images of lake okeechobee, Lake Okeechobee, Satellite Images of Lake O, Sentinel Satellite, St Lucie River algae, Todd Thurlow, What Do They Reveal? SLR/ IRL 6-7-18Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch Leave a comment
The Algae Comes From the Lake, Documenting the Discharges, 2018, SLR/IRL
Since my husband, Ed, accidentally spotted an algae bloom in Lake Okeechobee, while running new engines on the Baron, I have posted many photos on Facebook and the word is out.
Nonetheless, for purposes of documentation, I am going to post some of the photos again on my blog for historical purposes and for those who do not use Facebook.
~Ed noticed the "lines of algae" in the lake on June 2, two miles or so northwest of Port Mayaca, the day after the ACOE started discharging from Lake O into the St Lucie River. Absolute chance, fate, or a tip from above, however you decide to look at it.
Since this time others have documented on the ground and DEP should be testing for toxicity.
So, after seeing the bloom on Friday, Ed went back the following day on Saturday in windy conditions so I stayed home–in the yellow plane, the Cub, getting more pictures of bloom, looking about the same but more dispersed from rain perhaps. These photos at lower altitude also include drainage structures around the lake, as well as the destruction of the St Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon at Sewall's Point and the St Lucie Inlet.
Photos will continue to be taken as we once again, document the discharges, and once again have seen first-hand, like we did in 2016, without the warning of our government, that the algae that contaminates the St Lucie River starts in Lake Okeechobee.
June 5, 2018 Lake Okeechobee, UncategorizedACOE, documenting the discharges 2018, Ed Lippisch, Environment, finding algae in Lake O the day after ACOE begins discharges, Florida, indian river lagoon, Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch, Lake Okeechobee, lines of algae in Lake Okeechobee, SLR/IRL, South Florida Drainage, st lucie river, Toxic AlgaeJacqui Thurlow-Lippisch View all 6 comments
On First Day of Sunshine, ACOE Dumps Lake O into Already Ailing St Lucie, SLR/IRL
I woke up to seeing sunshine through the window. I looked at my phone. My brother's text read: "S-308 just jumped to 1484 cfs and its climbing."
(Go to St Lucie River for reports: http://www.thurlowpa.com/news.htm)
In Sewall's Point, today is the first morning in three weeks that it hasn't been raining, or just about to. My porches have been slick with moisture and leaves. The frogs in my pond are so loud at night I have to put in ear-plugs. My husband and I laugh saying you can count sheep, but there is no sleep!
In spite of all of this and the fact that the ACOE has been discharging from C-44 canal basin since around May 16, and the St Lucie River already looks like hell, it is still disappointing and heart-wrenching when they formally "open the gates." ~To Lake Okeechobee that is…
In spite of the history, or knowing why they do it, it just seems so wrong that little St Lucie has to take basically one-third of the crap water for the state. Sorry and I know my mother will not like that word, but its the truth. Thank God for Joe Negron and his work last year as President of the Florida Senate and resurrecting the EAA Reservoir. And curse to any new Governor who does not help it be fulfilled.
The natural drainage basin of the St Lucie River shown in GREEN below was much smaller than it is today. The introduction of four man-made drainage canals dramatically altered its size and the drainage patterns. This primarily being C-44, the canal connected to Lake Okeechobee (bottom). One can see from the map image that C-44 Basin and of course Lake O's water, the most effective assassins, were never part of the St Lucie Basin as were not Port St Lucie's C-23, C-24, and C-25 system. These canals have killed our river!
The EAA Reservoir must be built, and in time, more water must move south to Florida Bay. We shall be fixed or compensated or a combination of both for our now noxious-reality. We will not accept this fate. Who knows what this summer shall bring. But one thing is for sure, this life along the St Lucie, is now toxic.
Drainage changes to the SLR. Green is the original watershed. Yellow and pink have been added since ca.1920. (St Lucie River Initiative's Report to Congress 1994.)
A lone Great Egret looks for fish along a putrid looking, foam filled river. All images taken yesterday, 5-31-18 at Ernest Lyons Bridge. JTL
Thank you to ACOE for the following information and press conference yesterday.
Lake O water management slide_20180531: this slide shows lake levels comparatively. The lake is now high going into hurricane season, starting June 1st, ironically today. The lake is managed as a reservoir for agriculture.
Email 5-31-18
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Jacksonville District will start releasing water from Lake Okeechobee this weekend as part of its effort to manage rising water levels.
The discharges are scheduled to begin Friday (June 1). The target flow for the Caloosahatchee Estuary is 4,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) as measured at Moore Haven Lock (S-77) located in the southwest part of the lake. The target flow for the St. Lucie Estuary is 1,800 cfs as measured at St. Lucie Lock (S-80) near Stuart. Additional runoff from rain in the St. Lucie basins could occasionally result in flows that exceeds the target.
"Historic rain across the region since the middle of May has caused the lake to rise more than a foot," said Col. Jason Kirk, Jacksonville District commander. "We have to be prepared for additional water that could result from a tropical system. The lake today is above the stage when Irma struck in September, which eventually caused the water level to exceed 17 feet. A similar storm could take the lake to higher levels."
Today, the lake stage is 14.08 feet, up 1.25 feet from its 2018 low which occurred May 13. The lake is currently in the Operational Low Sub-Band as defined by the 2008 Lake Okeechobee Regulation Schedule (LORS), but within one foot of the Intermediate Sub-Band. Under current conditions, LORS authorizes USACE to discharge up to 4,000 cfs to the Caloosahatchee (measured at S-77) and up to 1,800 cfs to the St. Lucie (measured at S-80).
"Forecasts indicate more rain is on the way in the coming week," said Kirk. "Additionally, long-range predictions indicate increasing probabilities of above-average precipitation for the rest of the wet season. We must start aggressively managing the water level to create storage for additional rain in the coming wet season."
For more information on water level and flows data for Lake Okeechobee, visit the Jacksonville District water management website at http://www.saj.usace.army.mil/Missions/CivilWorks/WaterManagement.aspx.
Very Respectfully,
Savannah Hayes Lacy
Hydraulic Engineer
USACE Jacksonville District
Operations Division – Water Management
June 1, 2018 Lake Okeechobee, Todd Thurlow, UncategorizedACOE Dump Lake O into Already Ailing St Lucie, ACOE Dump Lake O into An Already Ailing St Lucie, altering the st lucie basin, C-23, C-24, C-44, canals, compensation, drainage basin st luice, History, Lake Okeechobee, man mande drainage canals, On First Day of Sunshine, SLR/IRL, toxic reality, we will not accept this fateJacqui Thurlow-Lippisch View all 10 comments
Stuart on the St Lucie River, Great Old Inlet Photos, 1937 Stuart Daily News
Page 10, historic Stuart Daily News, Special Edition 1937, in celebration of the Stuart to Ft Meyers Cross State Canal courtesy Knight A. Kiplinger
We are up to page 10 in our history lesson and today's photos are some of my favorite. The first is an aerial of the St Lucie Inlet entitled "Stuart on the St Lucie River." Since its earliest day's, Stuart has always been defined by its proximity to the river. Below the aerial it boast: "World Famous For its Fishing, Provides an Ocean Entrance for Small Craft." And by today's standards, a rather comical or un-comical plug can't be missed: "Where the Waters of Lake Okeechobee Meet the Atlantic."
It is also fascinating to note the shape of the south side of the St Lucie Inlet as today it has shifted and filled in. I am sharing my brother's Time Capsule Flight used in former posts as it is so interesting and shows the various inlets of this area and land shapes as documented on various historical maps. Although today, we try to make barrier islands, beaches, and inlets permanent, by watching my brother's video the message is clear: "the only constant is change."
Todd Thurlow's video Changing Inlets of the Southern Indian River Lagoon: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhYQz4P1ELM&list=PLDaNwdmfhj15bmGNQaGhog9QpkQPAXl06&t=20s&index=2)
Shifting Inlets: https://jacquithurlowlippisch.com/2015/10/28/flight-over-the-shifting-inlets-of-hutchinson-island-1515-1900-st-lucie-riverindian-river-lagoon/
St Lucie Inlet: https://jacquithurlowlippisch.com/tag/dredging-costs-st-lucie-inlet/
"The St Lucie River Estuary Leading to Stuart, Six Miles upriver. Here, at Sewall's Point in the Foreground, Is the Junction of the Intracoastal Waterway and the St Lucie. Stuart Bridge in Background."
Intracoastal Waterway:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intracoastal_Waterway
It is also fun to compare the aerials of Mr Lowell Hill, 1937 above with this one below dated 1952 by Arthur Ruhnke and Google Earth of 2018.
Courtesy of Sandra Thurlow
April 13, 2018 History, Uncategorized"Where the Waters of Lake Okeechobee Meet the Atlantic.", "World Famous For its Fishing, 1937 Stuart Daily News, Changing St Lucie Inlet, gilbert's bar, Great Old Inlet Photos, Great Old Photos, History, indian river lagoon, Inlets over time, Inlets Todd Thurlow, Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch, Knight Kiplinger, Lake Okeechobee, old maps, Provides an Ocean Entrance for Small Craft.", south side of the St Lucie Inlet, st lucie river, Stuart on the St Lucie River, the only constant is change, Todd Thurlow, various wonderful historical maps.Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch View all 3 comments
1937 Ads, Stuart Daily News, Commercial Fishing, Taverns, Progress! SLR/IRL
1937 Stuart Daily News, courtesy of Mr Knight A. Kiplinger.
Yesterday, I transcribed an historic article by Edwin A. Menninger written in the Stuart Daily News' special edition dated February 27, 1937. This rare find, shared from the library of Mr. Knight Kiplinger, was published in celebration for the opening of the Stuart to Ft Meyers Cross-State Canal.(https://jacquithurlowlippisch.com/2018/03/28/ironic-insights-the-dream-of-floridas-cross-state-canal-by-edwin-a-menninger-stuart-daily-news-1937/)
Today, we will open this exceptional document and see what's inside, on page two…
There are five ads on the page. Each one is a peek into history, and for me the final ad from the commercial fishing industry is the most interesting! But first, let's look at the left hand top of the page.
There is an ad for The English Tavern, south of the Roosevelt Bridge, that welcomes the yachtsman; with ample parking space. This sounds like fun! Why wouldn't there be ample parking in 1937. 🙂
To the right of that is an Enjoy Sailfishing in the Gulf Stream ad. It ask you to write, wire, or Phone 47-J for reservations. (Note today we have a three-figure area-code and six numbers!) The ad notes: Marine Ways Storage; Marine Supplies Repairs; and Boat Building at Toley's Boat Yard, Salerno. (Ironically the grandson of Toley, Shawn T. Engebretsen, is my husband's oral surgery business partner!)
The next ad, on bottom right, is from Stuart Metal Works where one can investigate the opportunities for building in the beautiful St Lucie River Region, Phil Pence, Proprietor. "Plan to make your home in the yachting wonderland!"
And the last of the foursome, in bottom right, is an ad by the Fort Pierce Financing and Construction Co., 208 Orange Avenue, Fort Pierce, stating that "Completion of the Cross-State Waterway is a mark of progress for South Florida." (People of that era loved this word "progress," and my mother still uses it!)
~Like when I was a kid, I would see a mowed down forested area made for a parking lot and she would say: "It's progress honey!"
And last, but not least this insightful ad from the Commercial Fishermen's Industry of Martin County that reads below a gigantic every-day catch of that era, a gargantuan pile of speckled sea-trout:
"The Commercial Fishing Industry of Martin County, Producing an Annual Revenue of More Than $1,00,000, Requests The Cooperation Of Officials On Charge Of The Lake Okeechobee Project To Maintain Discharge Of Fresh Waters From St. Lucie Canal At A Minimum During The Fishing Season From November To March."
If you had the time to read yesterday's blog, Edwin Menninger's article stated that "Construction of the St Lucie Canal began in 1921 when the fact dawned on the Everglades pioneers that canals through muck lands were useless – they refused to carry water out of the lake. Four of them had been dug, and were utterly worthless. The St Lucie was completed in 1924 and for 13 years has been the ONLY functioning outlet from Lake Okeechobee to the sea."
Attached is a 1909 map of South Florida from the 1909 State of Florida report "Report on the Drainage of the Everglades of Florida, By J. O. Wright, Supervising Drainage Engineer". (Not in article but for reference)
The concerns of Stuart's nationally recognized and often President-visited waters are well documented in my mother Sandra Henderson Thurlow's book Stuart on the St Lucie. Nonetheless, I never knew that from approximately 1924 to 1937 the St Lucie canal, today's C-44, was the only outlet for Lake O. Yikes!
The wonderful thing about history is that there is always something to learn!
March 29, 2018 History, Uncategorized1937 Ads, commercial fishing, commercial fishing stuart 1930s, Cross state canal, Cross state canal Stuart to Ft Meyers, Edwin A. Menninger, Florida, Ft Pierce Financing and Constrain Co., History, indian river lagoon, Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch, Knight Kiplinger, Lake Okeechobee, Progress, Progress! SLR/IRL, Releases from Lake Okeechobee 1924-1937, speckled sea trout, st lucie river, Stuart Daily News, Stuart Metal Works, Taverns, The English Tavern, Toley's Boatyard, Toley's Boatyard SalernoJacqui Thurlow-Lippisch View all 10 comments
Ironic Insights ~The Dream of Florida's Cross-State Canal, by Edwin A Menninger, Stuart Daily News 1937
Stuart Daily News, special edition, 1937, courtesy of Knight A. Kiplinger.
The year was 1937 and it was a special day…
The opening of the Stuart, Lake Okeechobee, Ft Meyers, Cross-State Canal…
The first sentence of this historic special edition newspaper reads: "Completion of Florida's one-and-only cross State canal marks the realization of a dream."
Yes a dream.
Since the other function of the cross-state canal is drainage of Lake Okeechobee, today many of us associate this cross-state canal with a toxic-algae nightmare more than with a "dream come true." It's funny how things change over time…
In any case, this rare document gives perspective and insight and is a tremendous history lesson of South Florida development south of Orlando, along the St Lucie River, Indian River Lagoon, Lake Okeechobee, and our sister city, Ft Meyers.
Thank you to family friend, Mr Knight Kiplinger, (https://www.kiplinger.com/fronts/archive/bios/index.html?bylineID=9)
of Washington D.C and Sewall's Point, who shared this remarkable document with me. It is an incredible read! So rare! Even my mother, local historian, Sandy Thurlow, had never seen it. And in the following weeks, I will be sharing it with you – transcribing and viewing its 37 giant pages of aerials, ads, and writings.
Today I will begin with the fairly long, but extremely interesting article gracing front and back, written by famed newspaper publisher, and Stuart flowering tree man, Dr. Edwin A. Menninger (https://www.kshs.org/index.php?url=archives/225898).
Enjoy. Think. Regroup. The best is yet to come!
Completion of Florida's one and only cross state canal marks the realization of dream. The idea of such a channel to link three great natural waterways ~ the St. Lucie River on the East Coast, the vast expanse of Lake Okeechobee (or Myakka, as it was known half a century ago), and the sweeping Caloosahatchee on the Gulf coast ~ goes back to the days when white men first settled the south half of the peninsula. But problems that early thinkers never dreamed of, arose to puzzle the empire builders, and the formal dedication in March 1937 of the waterway from Stuart to Fort Myers signalizes in reality the culmination of achievements stretching over almost fifty years.
It was back in the days of Governor Napoleon B. Broward that first steps were taken to reclaim the Everglades. It was in this years that Isham Randolph was called to make the survey that guided the Glades reclamation project of the next quarter century, and although Broward and Randolph are all but forgotten, their two names stand out as the farsighted leader who started what the rest of us are finishing.
Actually, neither Broward nor Randolph ever gave much thought to the possibilities of cross-state navigation. They were interested in controlling a gigantic lake that has no natural outlet to the sea, and by exercising such control through a series of great canals, they hoped to throw open to cultivation the richest farming land in the United States – the muck lands of the Everglades. The dream of those pioneers was rudely shattered by circumstances far beyond their conception or control, and but for the terrible hurricane of 1928 that drowned 3000 hapless residents of the Glades by literally dumping Lake Okeechobee in their laps the Everglades might conceivably have gone back to the Indians.
But it was this same great misfortune of danger and death, that focused national attention of the Everglades, put $20,000,000 of federal government funds into the picture to prevent future disasters, and opened the navigable waterways from Stuart to Fort Myers that is to be formally declared in March. With a flourish, Uncle Sam has completed an 8-foot channel, from 80 to 200 feet wide, across Florida from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. Dyke protection of the Everglades, plus water control by new methods, may make possible the solution of the State's reclamation problem, but that is another story. Certainly the Glades have staged a marvelous comeback since Uncle Sam's intervention, and new leaders are arriving to carry on the traditions of Conners, Bryant & Greenwood, Dahlberg, Sherman and a thousand others who have dreamed of empire.
Construction of the St Lucie Canal began in 1921 when the fact dawned on the Everglades pioneers that canals through muck lands were useless – they refused to carry water out of the lake. Four of them had been dug, and were utterly worthless. The St Lucie was completed in 1924 and for 13 years has been the only functioning outlet from Lake Okeechobee to the sea.
The Caloosahatchee River was connected to Lake Okeechobee by two linking canals fifteen years ago, but these proved inadequate to discharge water, and the Caloosahatchee itself was so crooked that it held the water back instead of discharging it. Tedious progress was made in boom days by the Everglades Drainage District, tying to open some tiny ghost of a channel into the Gulf outlet, but when taxes ceased to be paid in the first depression years, the efforts collapsed.
In 1930 Congress was induced to cooperate in a flood control program, and it was contemplated that $3,000,000 of federal funds would be spent. Before folks really understood what was happening, the government had tackled the problem, had achieved as much for the cause of navigation as for the cause of flood control, and had spent more than six times the originally contemplated budget.
The end is not yet. Improvement of the harbor facilities at both ends of this gigantic waterway are inevitable corollaries of the farsighted improvement program that has been car-
ried forward to today. Tomorrow's projects will include the St Lucie inlet (at Stuart) and Fort Myers harbor improvement on far-reaching-scales. This great cross-state waterway that is a reality, not a dream or a blueprint, crosses the East Coast canal at the St Lucie inlet, and this cross-roads is destined to be a focal point in the future development of Florida's East Coast.
A thousand men have had a part in the promotion of the canal project between Stuart and Fort Myers, over a period of many years. Thousands will cheer next month as this waterway is opened to craft of all kinds drawing up to 6 feet, with a two-day celebration that will carry a watercade from Stuart to Clewiston and then on to Fort Myers.
Yer standing out, head and shoulders above all the others who have given part of their lives to the realization of this waterway dream, stand two great figures in the daily life of South Florida. The "Stuart Daily News" pays tribute of admiration and respect to these two pioneers-
Commodore Stanley Kitching of Stuart.
Honorable W. P. Franklin of Fort Myers.
Those two men symbolize the cross-Florida canal achievement, and today's special issue of this newspaper is dedicated to them, in recognition of loyal and untiring service to the terminal cities they call home. Hats off to both of you!
Today's issue of the "Stuart Daily News" presents a panorama of this magnificent waterway, following a geographical sequence from the Atlantic to the Gulf. An airplane photographer has captured for you a series of pictures that starts at Stuart, carries you 150 miles through the Everglades communities, and on to Fort Myers. Such a graphic portrayal to the canal permits the reader to understand what this waterway is, what it means, what it does. Copies of this book go to every member of Congress, to yachtsman everywhere who are interested in this aid to navigation, and to others who see in this canal another great forward step for Florida. And if this book carries to these readers a message of progress, it has served its purpose.
I am particularly indebted to my faithful assistant, Ernest Lyons, and to an understanding photographer, Lowell Hill, for the effectiveness of the edition.
March 28, 2018 Guest writer, History, Uncategorized1937 Floirda Cross State Canal, Canal across Florida, cross state, drainage canals, drainage of florida, dream, dream cross state canal, Edwin A. Menninger, Florida cross state canal, Franklin Ft Meyers, history of cross state canal, Ironic Insights - The "Dream" of Florida's Cross State Canal; Stuart Daily News 1937, Ironic Insights about Florida's cross-state canal, Kiplinger, Kiplinger Sewall's Point, Knight A. Kiplinger, Knight Kiplinger, Lake Okeechobee, napoleon broward, realization of a dream dross state canal, SLR/IRL, St Lucie the only outlet to Lake Okeechobee, Stanley Kitching, Stuart Daily News, Stuart Daily News Special Edition, Stuart to Fort Meyers canal, W.P. FranklinJacqui Thurlow-Lippisch View all 22 comments
Don't be Fooled by Beauty; Our Barren River… SLR/IRL
My husband, Ed, took these photos of the Indian River Lagoon at the St Lucie Inlet on 2-28-18, just a few days ago. They are certainly beautiful enough to sell real estate…The turquoise water is so pretty one could easily overlook the sand desert below the surface waters.
Enjoy the blue water, but know that especially since 2013, our seagrass beds have been decimated by black sediment filled waters and toxic discharges from Lake Okeechobee. Seagrasses are the nursery for all sea life, especially the baby fish. These beds need time to reestablish if they ever will.
True beauty has something to offer, not just "surface water." Keep your eye on the lake and fight against any coming releases this summer so we can get life back in our dear dead river.
Lake O level, ACOE: http://w3.saj.usace.army.mil/h2o/currentLL.shtml
The Importance of Seagrasses, FWC: http://myfwc.com/research/habitat/seagrasses/information/importance/
March 2, 2018 aerial photos, Lake Okeechobee, UncategorizedAerials, aerials March 2018, blue water, Don't be Fooled by Beauty; Our Barren River... SLR/IRL, Ed Lippisch, importance of seagrasses, indian river lagoon, Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch, Lake Okeechobee, loss of seagrasses, Martin County, seagrasses, St Lucie Inlet, st lucie river, waterJacqui Thurlow-Lippisch View all 13 comments
Signs of the Times, SLR, IRL
When I was a kid, many of Stuart's older restaurants had signs. Some locals may recall Jake's on US1, or still today, Harry and the Natives in Hobe Sound. There are certainly others, nevertheless, there seem to be fewer restaurants with funny signs hanging on the walls than when I was a kid.
Thus it was awfully refreshing when Ed and I were at Lake Okeechobee this past Monday and I forced him to drive north, close to the rim, on the Old Conners' Highway to J&S Fish Camp. He was hemming and hawing the whole way, thinking I didn't know where I was going, but I did. When we finally got there, after driving about four miles north of Port Mayaca, we had a beer in the Tiki Bar, read the collection of signs, listened to an awesome old jukebox playing our favorite songs, and laughed so hard we felt like we were young again.
With all of the development in Florida right now, and 26,000,000 people expected to live here by 2030, places like this become even more wonderful.
That they are "one in a million" is just a sign of the times….
Connors Hwy: http://www.pbchistoryonline.org/page/land-boom-and-bust-conners-highway
J&S Fish Camp: http://www.jandsfishcamp.net
The following excerpt is from the Visit Florida website and tells the story the wonderful J&S Fish Camp and some of the others.
Camped Out http://www.visitflorida.com/en-us/things-to-do/florida-fishing/circling-lake-okeechobee-fishing-camping-and-history.html
Campgrounds outnumber lodgings along Lake Okeechobee, drawing visitors outdoors. Wayne McSwain, who was raised in Belle Glade, remembers camping along the shoreline of Lake Okeechobee. "You camped along this canal, because there were a lot of trees here," he said, pointing down from his perch atop the Herbert Hoover Dike, "and you came out here and swam every day, and water-skied… and you didn't worry about the alligators at all."
McSwain's father ran the grocery store on the road to Torry Island, along the way to Slim's Fish Camp. "It was (started by) the Corbins," McSwain said. "A lot of people from out of town came over here for fishing." To get to Slim's, you cross one of the last remaining manually operated swing bridges in the United States. "I was 14 or 15 when Slim let me turn the rod to make the bridge pivot out of the way," McSwain said. "It was fun for me, and I bet he got paid for it, too."
Camping along Lake Okeechobee has changed since McSwain's youth. With construction of the dike, a key protective barrier given the seasonal threat of water-intensive hurricanes, away went the views and the easy access. Still, the lake draws campers all year. They settle into fish camps, bring RVs for the winter to the campgrounds lining the eastern shore and hike into primitive campsites along the Florida Trail. The one campground with a view of the blue horizon was briefly known as Pahokee State Park. "The land still belongs to the state," said McSwain, "but they've leased it out to campground operators for the past 30 years or so." It's now Lake Okeechobee Outpost KOA with a lakefront pool and restaurant.
At J&S Fish Camp, regulars crowd the bar at 10 a.m. "We know we're the oldest fish camp around the lake," said manager Ted Miller. "The cabins were built for the people who worked building the dike." For the price of "a beer and a stay in a cabin," the murals of alligators and lakeshore came from an artist's brush, and the 1930s cabins took on tropical hues. Lake levels affect business dramatically. "When the locks are open," said Miller, "we have fishermen come in for boiled peanuts and a beer and to have a look."
January 18, 2018 Lake Okeechobee, UncategorizedConners Highway, development in florida, Fish camps Lake Okeechobee, If you must lie, J&S Fish Camp, Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch, Lake Okeechobee, old florida, please be brief, signs in restaurantsJacqui Thurlow-Lippisch View all 15 comments
Documenting the Discharges, 12-4-17, SLR/IRL
12-4-17, ca. 2:45 pm, photos: Ed Lippisch & Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
The Army Corp of Engineers has lessened but not stopped Lake O discharges that started September 20th, 2017 just prior to Hurricane Irma. Perhaps as the discharges have gone on at such a high rate for a comparatively long time, the plume has had a chance to extend its territory. In yesterday's photos, the dark, filthy plume is reaching clearly south beyond the exclusive Town of Jupiter Island.
Yesterday was a beautiful day, but the river and ocean waters of our entire region were ugly, possibly contaminated. How are we to enjoy our property and lives here?
When viewing the aerials below, please note the blue, sapphire-colored water just on the edge of the discharge plume. Yes, of course all estuaries put forth darkened fresh water after a rain event, and Ed and I could see this occurring just south at Jupiter Inlet. Nonetheless, the black, gigantic plume that we repeatedly endure for the St Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon due to discharges from Lake Okeechobee is an aberration.
Please let's all support Joe Negron and the public's work to build the EAA Reservoir; clean & send the water south!
Lake O discharges: http://w3.saj.usace.army.mil/h2o/reports.htm
Looking south along the southern most area of Jupiter Island.


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proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 192.
[192.552] STATE-SPONSORED LIFE INSURANCE PROGRAM.
(a) For purposes of this section, "state-sponsored life insurance program" means the life insurance program exclusively offered to all members of the Minnesota National Guard through the National Guard Association of Minnesota, pursuant to Public Law 93-289.
(5) allow members to change or designate beneficiaries.
Signed by the governor May 14, 2018, 11:59 a.m.


A Soul Whisperer Session is your opportunity to ask your Soul any question that you would like! It's like having a direct line of communication to the highest aspect of your being. If you are seeking clarity, healing, understanding, or growth, this is the session for you.
Each Soul Whisperer session is unique. It will unfold in a way that is just right for you. It is best to have a list of questions you wish to ask, or some challenges in your life that you would like to receive clarity and guidance on. Once payment is made, I will contact you within 24 hours to schedule your session. Sessions are done by phone, Skype, or FaceTime. If these options do not work for you, we can find a way.