The Everglades Agriculture Area Reservoir, otherwise known as the “Crown Jewel of Everglades Restoration,” would store and send billions of gallons of nutrient-laden Lake Okeechobee water south, where it is sorely needed. However, the EAA Reservoir threatens the influential and connected Sugar Industry’s water (irrigation) security. Since 2021, three large sugar companies have filed lawsuits against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to protect their water interests (more or less keep Lake Okeechobee levels high…i.e. status quo) and dismantle the EAA. A Federal Judge dismissed the case, but now the Sugar companies have appealed…Bluntly, should this lawsuit go forward, Everglades restoration would take a huge step backwards, and the coastal communities dependent on clean water and healthy ecosystems will continue to be one more red-tide event away from another “lost summer.” Sign on to the Captains For Clean Water Petition today!
Captains for Clean Water is not having it…and they are rallying the fishing community to push back against the Sugar industry’s self-serving lawsuit.
“This lawsuit gets to the core of the fight which is—who’s in control of the water in Florida and how is water being prioritized? Are we prioritizing water for the benefit of our economy, our environment? Or are we continuing to prioritize the irrigation supply for the sugar industry which is exactly what got us into the situation we’re in now.”-Capt. Daniel Andrews, Executive Director at Captains For Clean Water
Earlier this year, high-volume discharges of loaded Lake O water hit the east and west Florida coasts, potentially fueling red-tides, fish kills, and littered beaches. This is what the EAA Reservoir is designed to prevent: send more water south, filtered through the Everglades, which desperately needs water, instead of directly into the coastal estuaries. By sending water south, the EAA “will help maintain the lake at lower, healthier levels; restore the ecology of the Everglades; balance salinities in Florida Bay; recharge the aquifer that provides drinking water for millions of Floridians; and mitigate the harmful lake discharges that devastate Florida’s coastal ecosystems.”
Captains for Clean Water developed a petition for any and all who care about South Florida or healthy ecosystems to oppose this backhanded lawsuit seeking to maintain the status quo at the expense of our water.
Sign the Petition to Drop the Lawsuit TODAY!
“We believe in the power of the people to make a difference; to come together and say enough is enough”, added Daniel Andrews. “Regardless of the political mountains, regardless of the amount of corruption and dollars that our opposition puts into this—our job is to come together as we the people, come together as a collective voice, and to stand up and fight against the corruption that’s allowed this tragedy to continue for so long.”
Anglers Driving Change: Chris Wittman & Daniel Andrews – Captains for Clean Water
