Southwest Florida mayors urge action on water discharges

WASHINGTON – Mayors and activists from Southwest Florida came to Capitol Hill on  Monday with a simple message for the federal government: Protect the region by increasing water discharges from Lake Okeechobee south instead of west.

Polluted water rushing down the Caloosahatchee River from the lake has tainted the river and waters along some beaches, threatening the region’s ecology and economy. Community leaders want to make sure Washington knows the urgency of expediting progress on Everglades restoration that’s already begun.

“We are really here to say, ‘Please help us,'” Fort Myers Mayor Randy Henderson said during a visit to Rep. Curt Clawson’s office. “Let’s get to the finish line.”

Lake water gushing down Caloosahatchee River

Henderson was in town with two other local mayors, Kevin Ruane from Sanibel and Marni Sawicki from Cape Coral, to deliver the same message. They were scheduled to brief staff members of several Florida congressional offices about the issue and meet with representatives of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which oversees Everglades restoration.

Clawson, R-Bonita Springs, is sponsoring a bill, similar to one authored by Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fl., to speed up all Everglades projects that the Army Corps of Engineers deems ready to begin. A key component is restoring the flow of water south where it is naturally filtered and poses no threat to population centers.

It helps to have local mayors drive the point home with federal officials, Clawson said.

Lake Okeechobee water releases to Caloosahatchee: When is it enough?

“This helps us accelerate (efforts) and helps get attention from the right people,” he said Monday. “We need to get some momentum.”

John G. Heim, co-founder the Southwest Florida Clean Water Movement, also met with Clawson.

Heim wants federal lawmakers to pressure the state to buy more property south of Lake Okeechobee for Everglades restoration efforts, using money set aside for land conservation under the voter-approved Amendment 1 program. He said state officials aren't moving fast enough to use the money as it was intended.

The news isn't all bad.

Henderson noted important progress, including construction projects in the Kissimmee River basin and completion of new filtration basins such as the Nicodemus Slough. And for the first time, in years, some water has begun to flow south again.

“Things are happening,” Henderson said. “We just need to have them happen quicker.”

Contact Ledyard King at lking@gannett.com; Twitter: @ledgeking