Introduction

"While Lake Okeechobee is known as one of the largest lakes in the country, it has also been referred to as one of the most polluted lakes in the country."

(Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Office of Inspector General)

Lake Okeechobee-which means "big water" in the language of the Seminole Indians-is the second largest freshwater lake wholly within the United States. It is located in south central Florida (south of Orlando and north of Everglades National Park), and is commonly described as the "liquid heart" of Florida. Not only is it in the center (or heart) of the state, but it historically pumped life-giving water into the Everglades ecosystem like the heart pumps blood in the body.

Although humans have heavily altered the hydrology and ecology of Lake Okeechobee, the Lake still lives up to its Seminole name. It covers an enormous land area (730 square miles - approximately 450,000 acres), has an average depth of nine feet, and contains an estimated 1.05 trillion gallons of water. The Lake also plays a vital role in the region's economy, ecology, and way of life. It is home to prized bass and speckled perch fisheries which generated $28.4 million in revenue (1986), a principal source of drinking water for lakeside towns, and a backup source of drinking water for the 6 million residents of Florida's lower east coast. Lake Okeechobee also provides irrigation water for the $1.5 billion-per-year agricultural sector , is a vital habitat for wading birds, migratory waterfowl, and endangered species (including the Everglade snail kite, wood stork, and Okeechobee gourd), and is a critical water source for the Everglades ecosystem. While it is no longer physically connected to the Everglades ecosystem-a levee now surrounds the Lake and separates it from the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) to the south-Lake Okeechobee continues to provide life-giving waters to the system's sawgrass marshes and seagrass estuaries.

Unfortunately, despite its myriad values for humans and wildlife, the ecological and economic future of Lake Okeechobee is uncertain. Not only are phosphorus levels in the Lake dangerously high-almost 120 parts per billion because of agricultural inflows and hydrologic changes within the watershed-but water levels in the Lake are excessive and exotic vegetation is rampant. These conditions have catalyzed adverse ecological changes in the Lake since the 1970s-large algal blooms, fish kills, loss of wading bird nesting colonies, and declines in commercially and recreationally valuable fish species. They have also spawned a wide variety of protective regulations, programs and water management modifications since the early 1980s. These protective efforts, though extensive, have not succeeded in reducing phosphorus levels within the Lake, or of ensuring its long-term ecological health. Instead, as is discussed in the Restoration section, phosphorus inflows to the Lake have actually increased since 1990. Urgent action is needed, beyond even the programs now contemplated, to protect Florida's Great Lake from ecological collapse.

The purpose of this website is to explain the ecology of the Lake, describe the forces that threaten it, and outline the restoration programs in place or being planned. Another important purpose is to illustrate the shortcomings of current and proposed restoration programs, and to give readers the tools and information they need to get involved in Lake restoration. We hope you will return to this site frequently, as there are myriad opportunities for you to get involved and to make your voice heard to protect this world-class natural resource.