None of the new Lake Okeechobee plans solve all of the problems palmbeachpost.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from palmbeachpost.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
South Florida Water Management District governing board members approved a substantial $175.8 million contract Thursday to finish their part of a fast-tracked reservoir project south of Lake Okeechobee that is expected to reduce harmful discharges to northern estuaries.
The unanimous vote dedicates the money to finish a 6,500-acre stormwater treatment area in western Palm Beach County to filter nutrients from lake water before it goes south to the Everglades.
It is part of an ambitious $1.6 billion project that includes the treatment area and a 10,500-acre reservoir, also in Palm Beach County, that should mitigate the amount of algae-tainted water that is dumped in the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries when Lake Okeechobee is too full.