Rivers Coalition Mtg September 28, 2023 11:00 A.M.

Rivers Coalition Meeting
Thursday, September 28, 2023

11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Stuart City Hall Chambers
121 SW Flagler Ave, Stuart, FL

This meeting is in person and via Zoom, and is open to the public, with plenty of free parking available. Email info@riverscoalition.org for Zoom link.

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GET THE MUCK OUT OF HERE

Ten years ago, following the Lost Summer of 2013, the Rivers Coalition was advocating to remove muck from the St. Lucie river and estuary. One of the organization’s most popular shirts said it best, “Get The Muck Out.”

Fast forward to 2023 and the only change has been to pile up more muck. And the unfortunate truth regarding the submerged muck, or mud, is that we won’t truly be rid of harmful algae blooms until we get the muck out.

A key to Rivers Coalition’s mission of ending toxic discharges to the St. Lucie estuary from Lake Okeechobee--we need to help in any and all efforts leading to cleaner water in the lake so we’re able to send more water south.

At the September Rivers Coalition meeting we’ll hear from Rivers Coalition member Joe Gilio, a former assistant professor of natural sciences at Florida Institute of Technology, about the lake’s legacy mud, which he claims to be one of the main causes of constantly increasing phosphorus levels in the water.

Joe claims evidence shows the lake mud cannot take up phosphorus like it used to so constant river inflow increases phosphorus all the time. He says there are possible solutions such as mud island making, shoreline marsh making or massive muck removal from the lake entirely.

One such project, which the Rivers Coalition doesn’t endorse, but wants to know more about, is the Diatom Project.

To tell us more about the project is Len Lindahl, a Palm Beach County native and professional engineer with MacVicar Consulting, Inc. (consultant to the sugar industry). Prior to joining MacVicar Consulting, Inc., he served as the Assistant Executive Director for the South Florida Water Management District from 2013 – 2017.

Lindahl states, “the importance of dealing with fluid mud was studied by Dr. Canfield at the University of Florida, and Dr. Missimer at Florida Gulf Coast University. They have both published articles stating that the fluid mud layer in Lake Okeechobee is the primary culprit for the water quality issues in the Lake. In his paper entitled, “Lake and Reservoir Management Restoration of Lake Okeechobee, Florida: Mission Impossible?” Dr. Canfield writes, “Wind resuspension of bottom sediments is the source of the elevated TP [total phosphorus] in Lake Okeechobee, and there seems to be no way to lower the pelagic zone TP to the legally mandated target of 40 µg/L without somehow removing the effect of the unconsolidated sediments.”

Lindahl, who recently presented to the County Coalition for the Responsible Management of Lake Okeechobee (compromised of 16 counties including Martin County), said the Diatom Lagoon Project is focused on the capture of the problematic fluid mud. He said, “our design includes a sediment trap and load regulator at the bottom of the sediment trap and uses pumps, powered by solar energy, to move the fluid mud into the center of a man-made lagoon (or a “lake” within Lake Okeechobee). The suspended sediment will then settle in the lagoon, as the water flows back into the Lake passing through filtration rings, a calcium carbonate sand filter and other cleansing elements so the water returning to the Lake is cleaner than the original Lake water.”

The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE-SAJ) will also present on their efforts to remove 7.9 million cubic yards of muck from a total of four “hot spots” located in the north fork, south fork, and middle estuary of the St. Lucie River.

Though these "muck" protestors are from 10 years ago, the muck has been a problem for much longer.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:35 pm.