Download - Cerp Project Lake Okeechobee Watershed
Cerp ProjectLake Okeechobee
Watershed
Amanda DominicisPeriod: 5
Purpose
• Increase aquatic/wildlife habitat
• Control extreme highs/lows in lake performance
• Increase storage capacity for runoff
• Improve water quality
Advantages• In 1926 and 1928, 2 hurricanes
produced storm surges that killed 2,400 people.
• To prevent it from happening again, the lake provides a home for many plants and animals
• The lake is a major economic and recreational resource
Impact
• Most of the land was converted to agriculture land
• Water quality challenges due to large increases in the rate of nutrients in the land
Cost• The cost of this project is unknown because the project is still in the process and under construction.
Disadvantages
• There has been an increase in phosphorus
• Widespread blue-green algae blooms (covering 100 square miles)
• Phosphorus-rich sediments, over 198,000 acres, at the bottom of the lake