LOSOM TAKES EFFECT

BREAKING NEWS: The delay is finally over! The new Lake Okeechobee management plan, LOSOM, was signed into effect yesterday, August 12, 2024.

The Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual (LOSOM) will now dictate operations on Lake O for the next decade. For the first time ever, the volume and timing of water moving out of the lake will be managed by a plan that considers the human health risk of toxic algae on downstream communities. That’s important progress — but our work is not done.

This long-awaited change from the previous lake plan, known as LORS08, comes after more than five years of staunch advocacy by Friends of the Everglades, VoteWater, and others who called on the Army Corps of Engineers to embrace lake operations that would prioritize public health and prevent the kind of toxic-algae crisis that devastated Florida in 2018 and years prior.?

Though not a cure-all, LOSOM is expected to significantly reduce (but not end) harmful discharges to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries at most lake stages. It’s also the first Lake O plan ever to acknowledge the need to send additional clean water south to the Everglades. That said, LOSOM still allows for harmful discharges to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries when Lake O climbs above 16.5-17 feet. Fortunately, Lake O is more than 2 feet lower than that threshold right now.

Brig. Gen. Hibner of the Army Corps of Engineers signed LOSOM into effect on August 12th. As we pass this significant milestone, Friends of the Everglades will steadfastly work towards sustainable solutions for the Everglades and estuaries.

August 2005 – Hurricane Katrina levee failures in New Orleans intensify the need to rehabilitate the aging Herbert Hoover Dike surrounding Lake Okeechobee.?

2008 – LORS 2008, a Lake Okeechobee management plan adopted by the Army Corps of Engineers, includes rigid guidelines for harmful releases to the northern estuaries.

Summer 2013 –? An algae-filled “Lost Summer”, caused by Lake Okeechobee discharges, devastates the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries and Indian River Lagoon.?

Summer 2016 – Lake Okeechobee discharges again trigger widespread toxic algae blooms in the St. Lucie River, Caloosahatchee River and Indian River Lagoon and prompt emergency declarations and increase pressure for a new Lake Okeechobee management plan.?

Summer 2018 – Widespread blue-green algae on Lake Okeechobee is released to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries and Lake Worth Lagoon, leading to “Toxic 2018” and emergency declarations from the state of Florida.

February 2019 – Friends of the Everglades begins rallying community members impacted by toxic algae to provide testimonial input on the development of LOSOM in a series of NEPA public scoping meetings to be held throughout South Florida.

February 2019 – Scoping meetings for the new lake plan, the Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual (LOSOM), begin. Friends of the Everglades insists on a plan that protects the public from toxic-algae, stops harmful discharges, and

sends more clean water south to the Everglades and Florida Bay. Bullsugar.org co-hosts community briefings to inform the public and encourage more participation in the LOSOM process.??

July 11, 2019 – Army Corps of Engineers admits to knowingly discharging toxic water to St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee during testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

May 2021 – Friends of the Everglades calls on the Army Corps of Engineers to reject Alternative Plan BB, written by sugarcane lobbyists, to limit the sugar industry’s influence on LOSOM.

July 2021 – More than a 1,000 Friends of the Everglades supporters send letters to the Corps pushing the Army Corps to put public health at the top of its priority list by doing everything possible to reduce harmful Lake O releases to the northern estuaries as they “optimize” the chosen lake plan alternative.

July 27, 2022 – Army Corps of Engineers issues a Draft Environmental Impact Statement of the new Lake O management plan that will address the human health risk of toxic algae for the first time ever, as well as the need for sending clean water south.

January 2023: Ribbon-cutting for construction completion of Herbert Hoover Dike rehabilitation. Col. James Booth articulates that LOSOM will be finalized by June, 2023.

March 2023 – the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) raises concerns about LOSOM and requests additional time to study the impact on red tide and sea turtles. LOSOM implementation goal post is moved to December 2023.

May 2024 – Army Corps issues the Final EIS, kicking off a final 30-day review period.?

August 13, 2024 – Five years after discussion began (and three Army Corps of Engineers Colonel command changes later), LOSOM is officially implemented, becoming the first-ever Lake Okeechobee plan to address risks of toxic algae and the need to send more clean water to the southern Everglades.