Lake Point Restoration Owners Plan to Move Water Cleaning Operation Forward

STUART, Fla., Dec. 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- "This settlement clears the way to let us take dirty water from Lake Okeechobee and the canal, keeping some of it from flowing to the estuary; clean it and put it back into the system. We're glad to be moving forward," said George Lindemann, on behalf of the owners.

Before litigation came between host community, Martin County and Lake Point Restoration, the company was developing a plan to divert dirty water from the C-44 canal and Lake Okeechobee reducing part of the flow to the estuary?one of the most at risk in Florida.

The Lake Point Restoration property is located 1 mile east of Lake Okeechobee's Port Mayaca Locks, on the south shore of the St. Lucie (C-44) Canal, in western Martin County, Florida. Its eastern boundary is adjacent to the South Florida Water Management District-owned 21,875 acre DuPuis State Reserve Area.

The public/private partnership (Lake Point along with Martin County and the South Florida Water Management District) were included in the Northern Everglades Plan. Specifically, Lake Point was included in the St. Lucie River Watershed Protection Plan.

Lake Point has remained a public works project preparing for a time when water could be stored on site. In the meantime, providing rock for road beds regionally and for other public works projects like the repair and reinforcement of Herbert Hoover Dike (around Lake Okeechobee).

"To build the public works project, we planned to mine and as we moved through the site, to 'retool' the mine contours to maximize water storage and residence time and facilitate natural cleaning of the water," Lindemann said. "Soon we'll begin looking at the possibilities."

The water-cleaning plan has been on hold as the litigation proceeded. Now, the partners are re-thinking the best way to participate in the regional water management plan.

"We've always wanted to be part of the process to reduce estuary pollutant loading," Lindemann said. "Now we can restart those efforts."

SOURCE Lake Point Restoration