The City of Stuart was approached by Dr. Gary Goforth on February 7th, 2020 with a draft vision statement to help focus local efforts on protecting human health, the economy, and the environment from toxic discharges out of Lake Okeechobee.  Staff utilized the initial draft language to facilitate discussions with members of the community and other agencies in order to identify further priorities and language to consider in the vision statement. 

The enclosed vision statement reflects on the catastrophic damage the Saint Lucie Estuary and surrounding community have experienced due to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers historical prioritization of water supply needs over the health and human safety of communities affected by Lake Okeechobee discharges.  Resiliency of the Northern Estuaries is a primary objective in Lake Okeechobee System operations, but the St. Lucie Estuary has lost much of its resiliency due to decades of destructive discharges and operational decisions by the Army Corps.  In order for the estuary to rebound and recover, damaging discharges must be prevented in their entirety for at least 10-15 years. 

The visions statement also identifies the primary goal in achieving this end requires the Corps to target an 11 foot elevation (NGVD) of Lake Okeechobee by June 1st each year.  To accomplish this objective, the Corps should prioritize sending maximum beneficial flows west to the Caloosahatchee, and south through to Florida Bay throughout the year.  Equally as important will be for the Corps to ensure the majority of necessary discharges are released earlier in the dry season as opposed to later, when periodic rainfall events may occur and prohibit achieving this 11 foot target.  

The language included within the vision statement will be used by staff as the primary focus for all future discussions with local, state, and federal agencies.