Army Corps works to finalize Lake O plan that could affect Florida waters

FORT MYERS, Fla. – A plan that could affect Florida waters for the next decade is still in the works.

The Army Corps of Engineers is working to finalize their Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual (LOSOM). The corps has five potential plans on the table right now for consideration.

On Wednesday, they released data on those plans and their potential impacts on different stakeholders.

“It’s really important that organizations like ours and stakeholders that are able to look at these plans and look at this data,” Captains for Clean Water co-founder Chris Pittman said. “Can make suggestions to the Corps on which direction they think this needs to go so that we can see some improvement in our water quality.”

Federal officials won’t make a final decision until August. Even after that, the plan will be tweaked again. Next year the Army Corps will release a report with their new plan to Congress.

“The decisions the Army Corps is making right now are critical,” Pittman said. “They are going to affect our communities for a decade or more.”

The Army Corps will start holding virtual meetings with stakeholders on Thursday, June 17.

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