NOVEMBER 14, 2005

ISSUE 1089

LEE COUNTY SEEKS TO RELEASE LAKE OKEECHOBEE WATERS ONTO FARMLAND

Lee County commissioners have scheduled a workshop later this month to discuss legal options regarding the draining of excess water from Lake Okeechobee.
The decision to hold the workshop followed a meeting Wednesday (November 9) with South Florida Water Management District officials where commissioners had asked the district to flood farmland near the lake to lower its levels, which had increased from 15 feet to 17.5 feet after Hurricane Wilma. District Governing Board Members said it was a selfish request and that they were "not going to flood anybody."

The workshop will be held after the commissioners' regular 9:30 a.m. meeting November 22 at 2120 Main Street, Fort Myers. It is open to the public.