From left: Sanibel Mayor Mike Miller, Matt DePaolis, Holly Milbrandt, Julie Treichel, Calli Johnson DuPont, Col. Brandon Bowman, Maj. Cory Bell, Kevin Godsea, Eric Milbrandt, Ph.D., Jack Brzoza.

On March 26, Col. Brandon Bowman, District Commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District, and Maj. Cory Bell, Army Corps Deputy District Commander, South Florida, boarded SCCF’s R/V Norma Campbell to tour the estuary with SCCF staff, Sanibel Mayor Mike Miller, and other city and state water quality stakeholders.

The following day at the Rivers Coalition Meeting in Stuart, FL, the Army Corps announced they would be reducing Lake Okeechobee flows to the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie Estuaries — after four months of Lake Okeechobee Recovery Operations releases.

On the boat, the group discussed the unique ecology and water quality challenges of our barrier islands and the Caloosahatchee Estuary and visited one of SCCF’s restored oyster reefs, an SCCF River, Estuary, and Coastal Observing Network (RECON) station, and the City of Sanibel and SCCF Coastal Watch‘s living shoreline project off Woodring Road.

“Our water managers are all able to read the water quality data and the weekly reports we send, but to truly understand the unique needs and pressures of our coastal environments, there is no substitute for getting out on an oyster reef or looking at our mangroves,” said SCCF Environmental Policy Director Matt DePaolis. “We are thankful to the Army Corps leadership for taking the time to come out and meet with the stakeholders that are impacted by their decisions.”

Lake O Recovery Operations Ending March 29

Beginning Saturday, March 29, the Corps will reduce Lake O discharges to the Caloosahatchee River and Estuary from 2,100 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 1,400 cfs — which is within the optimal flow envelope and will help maintain a healthy salinity balance in the estuary. Flows to the St. Lucie Estuary will be temporarily halted.

Recovery Operations were implemented in December as a strategy to lower the level of Lake Okeechobee for the benefit of the lake’s ecology, including the health of submerged aquatic vegetation. When discharges began Dec. 7, the lake was sitting around 16 feet. As of March 28, it had been lowered to 12.68 feet, allowing the Corps to significantly reduce flows to the coasts.

Throughout the last four months — including during a red tide bloom — SCCF staff and partners provided ecosystem assessments that helped the Corps manage Lake Recovery Operations. This is in a addition to the regular water quality updates and lake management recommendations we send to the Corps through our Caloosahatchee Conditions Reports. 

“Meeting with Col. Bowman and Maj. Bell gave us a great opportunity to talk about how poor water quality events, including red tide, affect not only our environment but our communities and economies,” DePaolis said.

SCCF Marine Laboratory Director Eric Milbrandt, Ph.D. was on board to explain how Lake Okeechobee flows relate to the long-term stability of the west coast habitats — including oyster reefs and seagrass — while SanCap Chamber Board Member and local business owner Calli Johnson DuPont and City of Sanibel Director of Natural Resources Holly Milbrandt were able to explain the importance of clean water to tourism and our local economies.

“The Central and South Florida water management system runs from the Kissimmee chain of lakes to the Florida Bay, and to both the east and west coasts of Florida. It’s a vast, complex, and complicated system with interdependencies and interrelated structures, canals, and outlets. Our operations impact millions of Floridians,” said Maj. Bell. “By partnering with our stakeholders and communities, USACE is able to better understand the environmental relationships which are different for each community, stakeholder, and estuary throughout the system.”

Water Quality Resources

• Water Quality FAQs
• Caloosahatchee Conditions Reports
• Weekly Water Conditions Tracker
• Watershed Runoff and Lake O Releases: Explainer
• River, Estuary, and Coastal Observing Network (RECON)