Photo courtesy The Everglades Foundation
Last month, we told you about Florida Senate Bill 10, introduced by State Senator Rob Bradley (R-Fleming Island), which is designed to reduce harmful Lake Okeechobee discharges and provide needed water to the Everglades and Florida Bay. Last week, Chief Executive Officer of The Everglades Foundation Eric Eikenberg expressed hope that the Florida legislature is moving in the right direction on the issues important to those of us who value the health of The Everglades and the state’s coastal habitat.
After Senator Bradley filed SB 10 in January, the support the public has shown for the concept of water storage south of Lake Okeechobee has been truly overwhelmingly. People from all over the state recognize this is not a local problem; it’s a statewide problem.
We applaud Representative Altman for filing the House companion bill, HB 761, to Senator Bradley’s SB 10. Representative Altman has always been a champion for preserving and protecting the Indian River Lagoon and America’s Everglades. He knows just how precious our water is and understands that it shouldn’t be wasted.
This legislation will expedite a project to send Lake Okeechobee water south where it can be cleaned and sent to the Everglades and Florida Bay, rather than destroying our coasts by sending it east and west.
As SB 10 and HB 761 make their way through the process, we look forward to working with Senate President Negron, Senator Bradley and members of the Senate, as well as the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, Representative Altman and members of the House, to bring about a solution to our state’s water crisis.