Has anything really changed?
This is the question Treasure Coast residents are asking as they brace for a potential repeat of the Lost Summer of 2013.
It’s increasingly clear that this summer could be as bad — or worse — than the environmental crisis we endured three years ago.
On Thursday, the cumulative volume of water discharged in 2016 from Lake Okeechobee into the St. Lucie River surpassed the total volume discharged in 2013.
What’s most alarming is this milestone was reached in mid-June — before the official start of summer. In 2013, it didn’t happen until October.
And the water is still gushing.
Let’s recall 2013, when 136 billion gallons of Lake Okeechobee water, laden with phosphorus and nitrogen, poured into the St. Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon. The deluge wiped out oyster beds and sea grass, triggering toxic algae blooms that necessitated health department warnings to avoid the water.
The massive discharges had devastating effects on marine, fishing and recreational businesses in our communities.
Three years later, our lagoon is ripe for a repeat. All the key factors — i.e., volume of the discharges, presence of blue-green algae, depth of Lake Okeechobee — portend another environmental disaster.
Lovers of the lagoon are trapped in a time warp.
To be fair, some things have changed since the Lost Summer of 2013. For starters, politicians talked about the plight of the lagoon with renewed vigor.
“I will work diligently to protect and preserve the lagoon … blah, blah, blah,” said EVERY candidate running for political office in the intervening years.
Elected officials made trips to the scene of the crime, peering into the tainted water and promising to do something about it.
We wonder: Would the likes of Gov. Rick Scott or U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson ever visit our region if we didn’t have a river that provided such a compelling photo-op?
Since 2013, the plight of our waterways has garnered greater attention in Florida legislative meetings and the halls of Congress. The national media have reported on the issue.
Yes, some things have changed since 2013.
However, for the dad who wants to take his kid fishing in the lagoon, it’s as if the calendar hasn’t moved. For the family that wants to go tubing in the lagoon or anchor at the sand bar and lounge in the water, time is at a standstill. For the bait shop owner who has seen his sales plummet or the boat dealer who might have to lay off employees, nothing has changed.
This is the perspective that is lost on the talking heads in Tallahassee and Washington D.C.
For us, the lagoon is personal. It is so much more than an election issue. The lagoon — one of the most diverse estuaries in North America — is a priceless treasure that defines who we are.
It is the economic and recreational lifeblood for many people in our communities.
We’re told to be patient. We’re reminded by officials that there are no quick fixes to the problem.
No quick fixes? How much time do you require?
Discharges from Lake O have been fouling our waterways for 85 years. Herbert Hoover was president when the Army Corps of Engineers first began releasing water from the lake in 1931.
The tragic history of our lagoon is poised to repeat itself.
When will there be an end to this environmental catastrophe?