In response to mounting public anger over the toxic water being released along Florida's southwest coast, Governor Rick Scott has directed the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to issue an emergency order.
The order urges the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and South Florida Water Management District to take emergency action and redirect the flow of water out of Lake Okeechobee. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been releasing water from Lake Okeechobee into the Caloosahatchee River, the St. Lucie River Estuaries and the Indian River Lagoon.
Water from the Caloosahatchee River eventually flows back to the gulf beaches - bringing brown water and sometimes algae blooms to Southwest Florida.
The sugar industry has fought that kind of redirect in the past in an effort to protect crops. Governor Scott has received donations from the sugar industry in the past.
