A group of lawmakers and environmentalist organizations is urging change in the way the feds manage the levels of Lake Okeechobee.
"This is an important coalition representing our peninsula of Florida that are just demanding the (U.S. Army) Corps of Engineers make responsible change in their rewrite of the Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual."
Congressmen Brian Mast and Byron Donalds have sent a letter to the Army Corps, asking that the agency select a water release schedule known as "Alternative CC," which keeps toxic discharges from the lake into rivers on the east and west coast of the state, and instead sends water to the south into the Everglades.
They're concerned about blue-green algae destroying Florida's waterways, and Mast says putting people's lives at risk.
"To the threat of Alzheimer's, liver failure, kidney failure, respiratory issues, you name it and even death if you drink enough of it."
Mast says the discharges are poisoning residents because of toxic algae in the lake.
The goal is to keep water from the lake out of the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee Rivers, as well as the Lake Worth Lagoon, and instead move it to the south into the Everglades.
Mast, a representative from Donalds' Congressional office, as well as the heads of groups like the Everglades Foundation, the Florida Ocenographic Society and Friends of th Everglades, gathered in Port Mayaca to make the announcement after sending a letter to Colonel Andrew Kelly, the District Commander of the U.S. Army Corps.
The federal agency will be announcing its new plans next month.
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