What happens when water that once flowed naturally from Lake Okeechobee gets diverted to accommodate housing and commercial development? An unnatural flow plus pollution and runoff that disrupts the natural — and important — ecosystems of the Indian River Lagoon and Lake Okeechobee Basin, and the Everglades. Wildlife are hurt, water quality goes down, water bodies become dangerous to fish in or recreate in, and our economies are diminished.
That’s why the 2014 session and its extraordinary focus on the Everglades and water quality restoration projects can be deemed a winner.
Thanks largely to Sen. Joe Negron and a willing House to make a deal, Everglades Foundation priority projects were funded to the tune of more than $259 million.
The lobby teams at Capital City Consulting and Southern Strategy Group were among those to bring home some of the big ones within this figure — such as Water Quality Restoration Strategies ($32 million), Everglades construction projects ($85.1 million), Tamiami Trail – DOT Workplan ($90 million), and Lake Okeecbobee cleanup ($19 million).
