Discharges into St. Lucie Estuary must stop, says Mast

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) must halt discharges from Lake Okeechobee into the St. Lucie Estuary to prevent toxic algal blooms, U.S. Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) said earlier this week.

“We went from water that was Bahama blue to water that you can’t even see your hand in,” Rep. Mast said on Wednesday. “A two-week pause in discharges, as recently announced, is a woefully inefficient half measure. The only way to prevent another lost summer is a long-term halt.”

Algae has already overtaken portions of Lake Okeechobee, with the discharges carrying a mix of nitrogen and phosphorus that will ignite into toxic algal blooms as the temperatures get warmer, according to the congressman.

“The bottom line is that, since the Army Corps started discharging meaningfully distinct freshwater into the saltwater St. Lucie Estuary, the lake level has dropped… and algal blooms have appeared on the lake, and reports indicate that discharges are already having detrimental effects on aquatic life, including corals,” Rep. Mast wrote in a March 25 letter sent to USACE Jacksonville District Commander Col. James Booth. 

“With the upcoming oyster spawn, the detrimental impacts will only continue to multiply,” wrote the congressman. “The ongoing discharges are not only incredibly damaging to our estuary but directly contradict USACE’s best available science and modeling.”

He urged Booth to immediately cease discharges to the St. Lucie Estuary, located on Florida’s southwest coast.