Churning storm sparks concern over dike leaks (startled crabs & fish stress over families & homes)

The Fort Myers News Press via SOUNDOFF ^ | 09-05-03 | PAMELA SMITH HAYFORD

[AAABEST]

The Herbert Hoover Dike, which is holding back high water in Lake Okeechobee, sprung a leak.

This wasn’t the gusher type that normally comes to mind, but rather more seepage than normal, says the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Last week’s seepage and one in June were considered minor and have been fixed.

But with a tropical storm brewing in the Gulf of Mexico and already heavy inflow to the lake, Okeechobee’s water will keep rising — increasing the chances of more leaks, damage to the lake’s health and greater releases of water to the Caloosahatchee River and St. Lucie Canal.

“All levees leak,” said Karen Estock, the corps’ chief of field operations and readiness in Clewiston. “They’re designed to do that.”

The Corps inspects the levee every seven days.

“At this time we haven’t found anything causing alarms,” Estock said.

Until Everglades restoration is done, the fastest way to get water out of the lake is via the Caloosahatchee.

Too much fresh water for too long, however, stresses fish, kills oysters, chases off crabs and damages the grasses these critters need for protection and food.

“We did have some mortalities,” said Aswani Volety, a Florida Gulf Coast University associate professor conducting oyster research on the Caloosahatchee. “The spawning was delayed this year.”

The Corps started releasing close to 50,000 gallons a second from the lake to the river since Aug. 29. Smaller releases have been made throughout the dry season.

The Corps is not likely to increase water releases unless a storm dumps a lot of water over the lake or its drainage basin, Estock said.

That may be on the way.

A tropical depression was churning 145 miles offshore in the Gulf on Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

“The Kissimmee area and Lake Okeechobee have the potential of seeing 6 inches or more of rain,” said NBC-2 meteorologist Eileen Javora.

Lee County will probably see less, no more than 2 inches.

“We’re on the outer fringes of the system,” Javora said. “Expect it to become breezy (later today). There’s a possibility that we might see some bands moving in off the Gulf, possibly (today) and early Saturday. The heaviest rain, however, will stay north of our area.”

The lake was 16.64 feet above sea level Thursday and rising. That’s about 1.5 feet higher than the Corps would like it this time of year.

At 18 feet, the leaks are almost guaranteed, and breaching becomes a concern.

“Everybody’s kind of setting on edge right now,” said Jim Wells, who works at Angler’s Marina in Clewiston on the south side of the lake. “Just cross your fingers that we don’t get to 18 feet this year.”

The Corps is prepared to handle more leaks and has supplies on hand to make the fixes just as it did in 1995 and ’98 when high water threatened to breach the dike, Estock said.

Sandbags fixed the second of this year’s leaks Friday and another was remedied in June with a French drain along 1.1 miles at South Bay.

Inspections on Wednesday showed no new leaks, Estock said.

[AAABEST]

What they don't say in this article is that we are 100% saturated right now. All of the canals (which were originally designed and dug to protect human life and property) are over their high water mark. What they're supposed to be doing and what they used to do was start letting the water flow early so that saturation and capacity can be reduced in case of a hurricane or the like..

Those were the good old days though. Now the sick b***ard druid types control everything everywhere, startled crabs and stressed fish take priority over human lives and livelihoods. If we get a big storm we are screwed.

[babyface00]

I thought this was a thread about Hillary...

[AAABEST]

ACOE nightmare ping.

[farmfriend]

Rights, farms, environment ping.

Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from this list.
I don't get offended if you want to be removed.

[ctlpdad]

milf may be off the tracks, but here we have leaky dikes.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

I'm really disappointed that nobody pinged me to the MILF posts that offended somebody, and I had to step away. Know what they were?

[HairOfTheDog]

This appears to be a pretty straightforward article about the effects of the heavy rains and high water... I am not seeing what the problem is with your bold paragraph.

Is there some argument about how the water should be released when it rains like Hell? - What am I missing?

[AAABEST]

Okay I'll bite. WTF is a MILF?

[ctlpdad]

if you know it's supposed to be capitalized, i have a sneaking suspicion you know the answer to your own question.

[AAABEST]

I honestly have no idea, I saw CP capitalize it.

[Constitution Day]

Everyone knows the best solution for a leaky dike is to put your finger in it. ;)

[Constitution Day]

Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

;)

[AAABEST]

I read through half that thread and I'm even more confused than when I first asked.

N/M, I guess one had to be there.

[evad]

WTF is a MILF

Moro Islamic Liberation Front

Hehe..well,that's one answer..
on the extremely off chance you seriously don't know, do a google and see what "pops up".

Enjoy ;-)

[Cobra64]

I thought this was a thread about Hillary...

Fooled me too. I was thinking Janet Reno though.

[AAABEST]

Oh okay. I've known a few of them in the past.

[cogitator]

Is there some argument about how the water should be released when it rains like Hell?

The problem is that the flow is channelized, and when the system was entirely natural (before the Army Corps of Engineers redesigned South Florida) it wasn't. When there was more water in the unchannelized system, the water level over the whole Everglades would go up a couple of inches. But now, with channelized flow, a fairly normal rainy summer in Florida (and I think this is the first rainy summer for about 4? years) causes a "backup" in Okeechobee and high water levels in all of the canals.

[Cobra64]

Okay I'll bite. WTF is a MILF?

I've heard the expression has been construed as, "Mothers I'd Like to F...."

[HairOfTheDog]

Right.... I think I get that at some point people decided they wanted to move in and not be flooded, so dikes were built that keep most people dry most of the time...

I can see that 'what to do' about the water would have all kinds of room for debate.... I just can't figure out at the moment who is supposed to do what... Not that there is anything wrong with that. I am at the other corner of the country.