If a schoolyard bully is knocking you down and stealing your lunch every day, then one day he decides to knock you down but lets you keep your lunch, do you say ‘thank you’?  Looking up from the ground, it’s hard to see your lunch as a benefit.

When it comes to the new Lake Okeechobee Systems Operating Manual (LOSOM), that’s what water managers are asking the communities around the St. Lucie to do: take substantial harm and be happy about it.

As this historic decision is made, we need to make sure that any changes made to the preferred alternative the Army Corps is announcing on Monday do no additional harm.  Only then can we discuss finding new potential benefits.  

At yesterday’s South Florida Water Management District Governing Board meeting, that was exactly what I asked them to do: start from a place of ‘do no harm,’ and go from there.  

Unfortunately, some plans under consideration would do the exact opposite by doubling discharges to the St. Lucie compared to the compromise we agreed to. I will fight any “bait and switch” attempt like this with everything I’ve got!

You can learn more about how to share your perspective on LOSOM here