"Toxic Lake: The Untold Story of Lake Okeechobee" featuring Kait Parker of Weather.com

** See the full project at ToxicLake.com **
Over the last two decades, the environmental crisis of Florida’s Lake Okeechobee has continued to worsen and dominate local headlines. The lake is the nation’s second largest freshwater lake, but due to years of missteps, it’s been producing massive amounts of toxic algae that have closed beaches, destroyed businesses and poisoned swimmers.
The Weather Channel's digital team, led by correspondent Kait Parker, takes a closer look at the history of Lake Okeechobee and the future implications of this toxic algae pollution in “Toxic Lake: The Untold Story of Lake Okeechobee.”
The project breaks down the many elements of a complicated issue. "Toxic Lake" is hosted by Weather Channel meteorologist Kait Parker. The article, available at Toxiclake.com, was written by Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Marcus Stern.
“Toxic Lake” is the latest endeavor by The Weather Channel to explore the intersection of weather, the environment and social justice.
Over the past three years, the Weather Channel digital team has garnered nearly 50 awards for its reporting, including an Emmy Award, the Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) medal, a George Polk Award and Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) awards.
See more of our long-form journalistic work at films.weather.com.
--
Correspondent: Kait Parker
Produced and Directed by Spencer Wilking
Executive Producers: Greg Gilderman, Shawn Efran, Neil Katz
Producers: Kait Parker, Marc Stern, Craig Wilson
Director of Photographis: Andy Bowley
Editor: Conor Flynn
Finishing Editing: Brandon Kieffer
Assistant Editor: Jake Cummins
Drone Operator: Alex Mandiola
Additional Camera: Spencer Wilking
Graphics: Dorian Orange

[@MsIdyllic]

Now I understand why The Weather Channel was removed from so many television groups in FL, they exposed the truth!!! Preach Weather Channel!!!

[@zoy13]

That's what KZbin has become today. A bunch of dictators sided with corporations and censorship

[@lorrainechandler7864]

My late father worked for the South Florida Flood Control District- retiring in 1992.He predicted that their would be environmental repercussions from the draining of the Everglades and the dumping of chemicals in Lake Okeechibee.

[@mafarmerga]

Rick Scott could have solved this problem. Ron DeSantis could solve this problem. Neither has any interest in doing so, and yet Floridians keep voting for these criminals. Shameful.

[@nothinglessthanepic9902]

People only want to care when it effects them.

[@Rainaman-]

Typical Republicans

[@haloteddy5059]

@Bush Doctor they don’t care about anyone but their names and money

[@TheCorinnelh]

As a UK visitor to this area, I cannot believe there are discharges destroying all of the coastline- I see the dead fish and brown water at my beloved Gulf Coast beaches- and the authorities seem to be allowing this eco destruction??!!

[@JayG-cx8mr]

Republicans

[@coolbeans-vb2ex]

HEADS UP.... For those that DON'T KNOW. When the Clean Water Act, other environmental acts were passed in the 70's, there was a clause that said a state could exempt themselves from federal oversight IF they instituted their own version to match. Florida was THE ONLY STATE to exclude themself from the Clean Air & Clean Water acts. Environmental groups have had the state in litigation going on 2 decades. Everytime there is an environmental problem & the Feds shut whatever company, city service, etc... down for environmental issues? The state comes right behind them & opens it up. NO MATTER how bad it is!!!

[@phillipsteelesr.7432]

the everglades was the filter that cleaned the water. Changing the water flow stopped that.

[@gravelydon7072]

The Everglades is South of the Lake. Not North of it where the pollution is coming from.

[@mitchellhart8793]

@@gravelydon7072 did u even listen lol

[@gravelydon7072]

@@mitchellhart8793 Yes I did but I also know a little more about the system than the average bear. 1. I own land northeast of there near Orlando. 2. I live 2 hours south of there and within 3 miles of the Everglades. 3. I worked for SFWMD, who is who would have pumped water into the Lake. 4.) During my 18 years working with them, I can only recall 1 time in which the water was allowed to be pumped in from the South. It flows South off the cane fields and is taken care of by S-7, S-8, and the new pump stations built around the EAA. The damage is caused by the water coming in from the North. That is an effect caused by when the Corps of Engineers straightened out the Kissimmee Ditch. And by the water pumped in from the areas surrounding the rim of the Lake. Mosquito Creek, Fish Eating Creek, and others bring in the water from the cattle areas. Another thing that this video does not explain is that it was the environmentalists who stopped SFWMD from building the filter areas along the Miami Canal and US-27. Those same environmentalist wackos demanded that water coming off the cane fields had to be cleaner than the rainfall that fell on those same cane fields before it could be allowed into the filter areas being built by SFWMD. The stopping of the land buy and the filter areas was due to the court fight and not the drop in revenues for the State. The District had to buy out the contractor when the work was forced to a halt. w3.saj.usace.army.mil/h2o/lib/graphics/projmaps/infra.pdf That map is out dated but North of STA3A is the area where the District was building another large filter area which is the one that was stopped. Look on Google Maps and you can see. The map linked to was done a year before I left there.

[@YourBeastRoy]

? yea.... we know.... uhhh video ^^^

[@keithsturgeons7428]

Spraying vegetation in the lake Helps or hurt water water quality to the coast????

[@jgrave10]

Thanks for posting this story to increase awareness. Eutrophication of Florida's waters is a big problem. The 1992 Kissimmee River restoration project was a good start. This helped restore the ecosystem to the north of Lake Okeechobee. However very little as the video states has been don to restore the proper laminar flow to the south. The Everglades are in and have been in big trouble. Hopefully we can move forward with more though restoration.

[@lewq76]

Great investigative journalism weather channel. Good to see you guys care enough about the enviornment to bring this to light to the masses!!

[@sethwolfe4555]

I live in Florida my entire life and it is a real heartbreak to see the devastation was in four decades

[@mafarmerga]

Rick Scott could have solved this problem. Ron DeSantis could solve this problem. Neither has any interest in doing so, and yet Floridians keep voting for these criminals. Shameful.

[@davidc3857]

I don't live far from Lake O, the problem here is because of the big sugar companies, the Army corps of engineers, our corrupted politicians like Rick Scott among others! People are losing their businesses due to this crisis along with the heath of many who come in contact with it. It effects the skin and breathing, it has caused great illness also. You don't need to swim in it to get deathly ill, a drop or two that touches your skin where there's even a slightly detectable cut that's been there will land you in intensive care! It's horrible and the government isn't doing squat to remedy the problems here... Eventually it'll destroy the entire state and the people who live here along with the tourist who visits here! This video is from 2016 I believe, 2018 has been the worst year ever for it's effects on us and the environment!

[@lizatanzawa7910]

David Carter This is so damn sad. I've been to Florida for vacations, so beautiful, and now look what greed has done!!!!!

[@davidc3857]

Liza Tanzawa you speak the truth, it's incredibly heart wrenching to see so many hard working & innocent folks affected by this disastrous problem! It seems to be on going for many years now & it gets worse most every year! I'm far from an environmental activist but this nonsense has ruined many lives from the residents of the surrounding communities for years, people have lost their small businesses & have been forced to move leaving them flat broke! People have gotten deathly ill, the unfortunate tourists have had their hard earned vacations ruined & some have been taken incredibly I'll, some have been extensively hospitalized and some poor unfortunates have died as a result of this! The truly sick part of this situation is that it could be solved if Washington, the Army Corps of Engineers & the CDC (Center for Disease Control) provided the funding & passed legislation in order to resolve this! Big Sugar has greased the pockets of corrupt politicians so they don't appropriate some of their land & pass stricter controls over their operations! All this and that's not even mentioning the destruction of our wildlife and many species of various creatures like the fish, manatees, dolphins & last week, a whale shark dead had washed up in the beach dead from the toxic algae bloom! Birds eat the fish and are dying from that... Like I stated, I'm not an activist but this has got to stop before the entire state is destroyed, along with our environment, the plants and animals that depend on the water, the residents and tourists alike! From late Winter to late Autumn it dominates the tv news yet nothing gets done because of the corruption and political greed... Sorry for being so lengthy, but this is no longer an inconvenience, it's become a war zone that people must protect other people, the poor animals suffering and dying & the destruction of our precious environment & ecosystems! God Bless You for your sympathetic ear and your time! It's refreshing to see someone who isn't a resident here speak up against this "problem". If you do chose to visit us here again, please feel free to contact me & I'll tell you the status of the situation here so you won't chance spoiling your vacation nor endangering your health over this (I sincerely mean it, I could also direct you as far as the best deals in hotels/motels in a safe, relatively crime free area too along with the best value at restaurants so you get the biggest bang for your vacation buck!. 😊 You're an angel for caring! Sincerely, David C.

[@mskmsk9757]

Agriculture has had a free hand to do what ever they want to for the last century. Our politician's turn a dumb blind eye (with hands out) to this increasingly critical issue. Without naming names, look whos on the ballot box. Vote. If we want to get rid of the scum we got yo get rid of the scum bags

[@UncleKennysPlace]

How much of that $700 million have you and your friends raised to help protect the waterways?

[@davidc3857]

Hula Shack Rick Scott is partially to blame because he cut the water management budget by hundreds of thousands, and it's his responsibility as being the governor to hound the federal government & the Army Corps of Engineers over this problem! If that's not enough of a reason for you to feel he's partially to blame over the blue/green algae problem here, add into that the fact that he's heavily funded by big sugar & he should've appropriated some of the land to ease the problem, he responded to that by stating that they "couldn't come to terms over the price of that land" That's a lie, he's the damn governor of the state, he could take it regardless of how much they wanted for the land! It's the same principle as a railroad being built and someone doesn't want to relinquish their home that would block the railroad, if that happens, they don't need to negotiate the compensation, they just take it & nothing can be done about it, but Scott is dependant on big sugars money, the hands go pretty deep in that pocket! If you're still not convinced of his responsibility, consider that he severely cut the funding for healthcare, the people who depend on the water being clean have lost their jobs & businesses due to the conditions, it's difficult getting medical help if you've lost your job & business and seeing as it's not their fault that the water is contaminated, they shouldn't be expected to pay their medical bills when they've gotten I'll from the contamination... I'm not being overly political about this, I blame Bill Nelson also, It's not a Republican nor a Democratic issue, it's about taking care of hard working residents who've suffered when they had nothing to do with creating the problem. All these unfortunste people want, is to work & live in a place where they can do that without getting sick from environmental problems! That's not too much to ask out of the politicians and industries that operates their business there! Get serious, they're not shiftless people who want to slack off & live off of welfare & act like the world owes them something.... ughh! SMH

[@jonathanjames2162]

This is the first major news network that has called out the Sugar companies. Everyone else is bought. Good job.

[@elpolloclaudio6658]

@@shugman3090 your right... These people should go on the sugar tour... And start blaming they're Republicans they voted for because they love to spend whats left of they're state budget throwing round up along major waterways...

[@Tony53177]

Wouldn't it be cool if there was a government department in charge of guiding policy to protect the natural environment?

[@rayminthecat]

I maintain swimming pools. When a pool unexpectedly turns green I ask were any ferilizers recently applied close by? And in the spring the smell of companies spraying permeates the air with their concoctions of chemicals to grow one thing and kill others. I saw 2 fireflies this year. 40 years ago there were millions. Bats and frogs have been pretty much exterminated from most suburbs too. We must learn to gently dominate.

[@ambriadaniels-dovolis7496]

"Gently dominate" What a fuckin crock of shit. Co exist... SAY NO TO SPECISM.

[@frankspeaking2630]

The term Domination has been corrupted in it's meaning over centuries. The biblical application has been translated from the concept of rule and responsibility for as in tending to a Alpha male version of abusive rule rape and discard. Civilisation could never have arisen with the all about me and my benefit application and as it is increasingly applied and I see the attitude amongst the comments, we are heading to WW4 being fought with sticks and stones

[@GULF-BANK]

rayminthecat I used to see fireflies all the time. No more

[@richardcatalinajr.369]

Eye-opening. Something not covered in the Northeast.

[@neutronpixie6106]

I used to surf Cocoa Beach and Sebastion Inlet. I moved 15 years ago because the water was giving me rashes and unbearable migraines. You could smell the fertilizer in the water. Even the drinking water. I can't even imagine how bad it has gotten since then. I guess I don't have to. This video shows just how disgusting it is. I've been to third world countries that care more about their environment. As a Floridian, it's completely embarrassing that it has gotten that bad.

[@carschmn]

“Trickle up” is actually how the economy works. People being able to spend money drives the economy. Rich people hoarding does nothing.

[@MorpheusOne]

As a wise person once said..."The money was all appropriated for the top in hopes it would trickle down to the needy. Mr. Hoover didn't know that money trickled up. Give it to the people at the bottom and the people at the top would have it before night, anyhow. But, it will at least have passed through the poor fellows hand." You're right.

[@armageddonready4071]

I don’t know what that muck is exactly, but I cleared trash off of the poudre river in Fort Collins after a fire run off rain storm flood. I got so sick from whatever sludge and slimy muck the trash was in, I ended up in the ER because I couldn’t keep down water. I feel for those manatees.

[@jnh2174]

Thanks Monsanto!

[@vvvvxxxx9999]

Praise Monsanto!!!! Untouchable/ Unbelievable.

[@jointhejourney7472]

Florida Republican Legislature severely cut environmental regulations and funding.

[@retrorobot9670]

This should have a Billion views. Real NEWS

[@ih82r8]

Tear out the sugar fields and release the dam.

[@Will-tm5bj]

Mark JetGator, a mix of both. More sugar than anything

[@fljetgator1833]

Will Scrudato ..well sir...Florida is my home. I've seen sugarcane alllll my life (well..SO FAR! 😂) The Everglades had been fine. I lived in & worked The glades.. Always healthy & AWESOME abundance of wildlife. After the developers began paying off politicians.. The cypress head (dense area of this tree) were cut, trees like pine felled, palmettos ripped up AND foreign crap soil etc brought in.. THEN the ecosystem ruined. That's fact. I go back to the 60's. . how bout u sir? 😎.. P.S: family & friends w thousands of head of beef cattle...& produce growers. ..g'day to ya either way

[@Will-tm5bj]

Mark JetGator, it is the runoff going east and west that is causing this. Cow shit from up north flows down, add to that nitrates from the sugar fields, add that to brackish water and you get this mess

[@fljetgator1833]

Will Scrudato ...agreed to that as well.

[@psyop6942]

Jennifer, It's disgraceful what they are doing.I have been a land surveyor for over twenty years in south fl and I have seen many a builder clear cypress,live oak etc all protected.You are right Will.All except fill.Costs to much to move dirt around.As you probably all ready know,all the lakes and ponds in Subdivisions are man made and the fill to raise the land dredged from them.The sad thing is we all voted on this four years ago.We won with the vote and some how we were ignored.Wetlands naturally act as a filter.It will not pollute the Everglades.They need to open up a channel and send the water south.They could start and complete this in six month's.See the army of machinery working on the dike? This would benefit us all and save our coastline,rivers and lagoons. We voted they must be held accountable. Keep up the fight

[@alyssarh]

It's amazing that we're SO aware of this problem and have known about it for years, and yet every single year they still do water releases that cause this to happen time and time again. When will they learn? How loud do we have to be? It's so disappointing to see the local and widespread government ACTIVELY not caring about people's health and the health of the ecosystem. If we can't fix this algae issue in FL when our economy is directly linked to tourism and the algae ruins tourism, how can we expect to fix other problems?

[@waterdad711]

Have you ever googled Hyacinth control program? It’s a tax you pay to spray the water with chemicals! Do research don’t trust the media. Hyacinth control tax

[@shereemorgan1430]

I lived in Florida for 3 years, very close to Vero Beach. They should never had changed the route of the water. We couldn't even fish, because of the smell.

[@mragentkarp6062]

Sheree Morgan I’ve lived in Florida for 14 years and I’ve only seen this bad once

[@lyndenmcdonald4285]

As a kid we lived in ft pierce in the 60s in the winter..it was nice then

[@robertlee8805]

So, now what? Keep the lake unusable? Man poison it, man kills man.

[@ellencorey2006]

MrAgentKarp x

[@LibbyRal]

The last two years beaches in the south have had to close because of pollution.This video is from 2016 and we had this problem in 2017 and 2018 Another increasing environmental problem is sinkholes opening up because the land literally can't sustain all the buildings,and the water they require.

[@bstorm4413]

On April 22, 2011 Gov Rick Scott (who is now running for the senate) petitioned the federal EPA to turn EPA controls over to the state. In addition, he requested the 2009 numeric nutrient critera be withdrawn. Big Sugar, etc was able to fertilize as much as it wanted after the safety guidelines were removed. So 7 years later Florida is a toxic wasteland. Algea growth is directly tied to the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus available. Guess you better not vote Republican if you want clean water.

[@elizabethbennet4791]

phenomenal doc!

[@bobbiggley6992]

Sad to see the environment being destroyed by ignorance and greed

[@godsgirl8630]

Wow! She has done a great job covering this!

[@jammasterjay]

I’m not saying there’s not chemicals or polluted water here, but anywhere fresh or brackish water meets salt water there’s a noticeable line between them.

[@paladinguns]

A state that relies on tourism is always unsustainable....🇺🇸

[@mfb5642]

We need to shutdown Florida Sugar Industry. There's no other way.

[@jacquescousteau4592]

Or just make it more ecological? Sure the fertilizers are helpful but plants grow without them.

[@dukington101]

No one needs sugar, sugar is a toxin in the human body and responsible for much illness

[@RobFrank22]

What about the cows to the north of the lake?

[@fredlotz1120]

HUH GOOD LUCK WITH THAT

[@NicholasLittlejohn]

Most sugar is GMO and super unhealthy anyway.

[@jeffdoran8126]

The problem is when man interferes with Mother Nature because the ecosystem the way it was before was perfect because of the swamps it could handle vast amounts of flood water plus the swamp would handle the large amounts of phosphorus in the waters. We had this problem on the Chattahoochee River here in Georgia due to the large amount of phosphorus coming from Atlanta they said it was due to the phosphorus in washing detergent so they eliminated phosphorus from washing detergents and slowly the Chattahoochee River recovery. So you have to remove the phosphorus from getting into the ecosystem and there is alternative in farming that could be used here it's not a problem that cannot be fixed and it would probably be best to keep government out because more times than not they do not have the people's best interest in mind but instead corporations.

[@guillermocastellanos7615]

Tank you kait parker l love the weather channel ,you are a great person always with the smile and motivation l try to don't miss weather show l live in mammoth lakes ca so tanks again for everyone work at weather channel 😎

[@JeepBoiFL]

Cant come up with a few billion to solve this toxic tide which is killing the enviroment to now near a point of no return and restore the Everglades out of an annual $80 billion spending budget! Well its sure going to be hard to operate at half that budget when tourism collapses after enough people go home and share their stories of how they couldnt even go swimming while on vacation.

[@amorris9115]

John Palermo There's no money in the budget to help fix this. They are busy building new $25 million beaches..

[@JeepBoiFL]

LOL, that nobody will go to because the water is toxic ;-) Sounds like a plan!

[@reebqueen8558]

Your right l am only working here for two years and rent on the beach, our plan to bring over family for holidays but l will have to tell them go to Spain anywhere but here. It's so sad they are destroying the beautiful place called Florida? It is rapidly becoming a toxic waste land.

[@tvanh3568]

best video ive seen on the issue!

[@nebuler1]

Thank you for putting this out there

[@jermos6224]

The title could use some re wording but the facts are true. It’s also funny how 9/10 people bashing the video are fisherman of lake O. Bro..of course you all have the “beautiful waterway” with bountiful bass fishing, ( I myself love bass fishing btw) it’s not affecting you because you’re in a freshwater fishery..ever think of what dumping the overflow of BILLIONS of gallons of freshwater into a saltwater eco system does to a SALTWATER fishery? Maybe you all could do some research on that, or better yet, come to Martin, St. Lucie and now even northern Palm beach county now along the IRL and see, smell the mayhem this is causing for the rest of the states fisheries. I’m not blaming the O but I am blaming the engineers that decided to disturb the natural overflow of the water from the lake and so is almost everyone else I know that has some common sense.

[@gojobuddy]

Kip Sprankle There's all kinds of polluters. Trash plastics and God only knows what's dumped all over the place. I love all the finger pointers. They go to the beach and leave their trash all over the place.

[@pjfitter3267]

Very informative !! Thanks

[@DJ_20_THOR_7]

Ty weather channel for caring I live in Florida and had no idea this was going on. From Orlando

[@dannyholt105]

I just want to see more of the reporter. :-)

[@devo229]

Danny Holt true I only clicked on the video cause I had to see the beautiful women in the screenshot..

[@tomcatt1824]

DeVaughn Currie ::she sure is pretty..

[@jtleon7086]

She's a natural beauty alright.

[@wanderingquestions7501]

Why buy the land? Did developers buy it from the state? Why should the state buy it back? Condemn the land just like developers would bribe city councils to condemn perfectly good neighborhood because some developer wanted to take the land for some condo project. Just condemn it and take it back.

[@Dr-vn2jr]

Amazing video !

[@harrisonwalls4037]

Liam edgwick stfu

[@JackanapesesOnXbox]

apparently there is a 10 million dollar reward for the best idea to fix the problem

[@browardmpr8317]

Reporter is so pretty

[@dannyholt105]

And dat azz!

[@devo229]

She's gorgeous

[@sngwrter49]

I'd do her unless she kept talking about news all the time. Nah, I'd still do her.

[@marksleeper3752]

great report Kait so sad to see this, I watch The Weather Channel every day it is by far the best

[@RyanDistefano-ex2ys]

Who else is here because of Scott Martin?

[@LuisRamirez-hh1ts]

Ryan Distefano123456789 Yeah this video is stupid.

[@cristianc5312]

Yep

[@hydrocrawloutdoors3782]

Ryan Distefano123456789 yep

[@bassman4201000]

yup

[@schuylerbrinks4223]

Ryan Distefano123456789 I'm here too because of him, what a pile of bull!

[@SuperSnugglemonster]

The concentration of a usual red tide in which some fish die is 100-200k cells/liter. The 2018 red tide has measured as much as 40 million/liter, which is 200-400 times as much as a common red tide and it has proved lethal. Over 400 sea turtles have been found dead and those are just the ones that they've found. The average sea turtle nest contains ~110 eggs and only ~1 in 1,000 hatchlings make it to maturity so those 400 dead sea turtles represent ~3,600 turtle nests.

[@mauriceupton1474]

The people of Florida need to track down the CEO of the sugar company and give him a drink of his own water give him a taste of his own medicine it's only way you'll get through to these people Brute Force

[@endeavortrikes]

We need to dump all this stuff on Mar A lago then something will be done.

[@matildanocen8618]

The 90s was a better era for the people who loved the economy

[@skipduncan1]

Thanks for sharing that very moving video, very sad , our waters are way down on the list of priorities. I think I'll watch this again, before I go to the polls this Nov.

[@rRobertSmith]

What killed Lake Okeechobee? GREED.....drain off from cattle farms.

[@elpolloclaudio6658]

There is no drain theres open flow and these cows sit in the canals and shit all day but they wanr to come at sugar because they bring in big money and skip over the fact the Okeechobee county is #1 in the state for cattle

[@NicholasLittlejohn]

#SeizeTheLand!

[@bobbybabylon1385]

USA/Florida is not a safe tourist destination due to the gang warfare and 100s of shootings daily.

[@thetherorist9244]

idiot

[@gravelydon7072]

Florida is far safer than Chicago.

[@gojobuddy]

Bobby Babylon I don't know where you get that idea from? Chicago is way worse.

[@thetherorist9244]

no it isn't...it just seems that way because it is uglier...same crap

[@thetherorist9244]

that isn't saying much

[@lynne4948]

Anyone else here after reading today’s NYT’s article?! You cannot outsmart Mother Nature.

[@jamesdarnell8632]

Coffee is not disgusting, but the water is.

[@lau_dhondt]

Very good reporting. This is a big issue.

[@bobbybabylon1385]

Most of usa is a toxic nightmare. yankees even used nuke bombs fracking for oil and gas (project gasbuggy). Most yanks die of cancer if not shot first in one of 100s of daily shootings in usa.

[@richardt8604]

Tragic ! Another Science based stuff up ! One of many in the World !

[@FinishCarpentryTV]

Scott martin has the truth. check out his last video

[@hansenbros.6777]

Finish Carpentry looks like his truth was wrong. Look at SW Florida today after they released water from lake O.

[@seansurfn2]

you ate your words didnt u? stupid fucks

[@mfb5642]

Weather Channel has the truth. All of science agrees. You're wrong and Scott is wrong.

[@bendover-qp3dp]

seansurfn2 the lake isn't toxic, the nitrogen levels from the lake mixed with the nitrogen levels of the salt water isn't a great combination. The red algae "red tide" mixed with the "green" algae of "stagnant" water created a large issue. The government altered the natural flow of okeechoobee into the everglades and it influenced a chain reaction of all the chemicals mixing without being filtered. If you've never been on lake O you have no accreditation to call the water polluted. Lake O is full of life and because of the lake being damed up on 3 sides it have caused an ecological disaster. No where on lake O does the water look like it does once it reaches salt water.

[@marcusyoung2870]

Raymond Reddick Nobody said lake O is toxic. It's the nutrients from the water in lake O that is the problem. Listen and you might actually understand what they're saying.

[@darianblaine4810]

#moving as soon as possible.

[@scottblack8266]

Rick Scott is a state of emergency !

[@hollyneumann1702]

The title is misleading. Lake Okeechobee itself handles the pollution fairly well. The lake is toxic in the sense that its waters are toxic to the estuaries on the coasts of Florida, where the water needs to be brackish and clear enough for seagrasses to grow. the phosphorus and other nutrients and sediment block out sunlight, causing seagrasses to die, and create an optimal environment for algae growth. In this case, the "algae" is actually a photosynthetic blue-green bacteria that releases powerful toxins when it dies.

[@scottodonahoe4208]

Shit rolls down hill .Control the water flow out of these lands . Scott is right . My two favorite lakes have been killed by draw down . Lake Wales area !

[@rebeccasatherley4727]

But “lock her up”’right 🤔

[@bigspoon7984]

When you redirect the natural flow of nature; and put profit above everything else - this is what you get.

[@invictawarrior]

Everything for special interests because that's more important then taking care of mother nature and the land.

[@chrisortiz1577]

This is happening again this year in Florida Its like time is repeating

[@TylersReelFishing]

I'm absolutely appalled @Weather Channel. The many uses of pejorative term, sickens me. Even if the lake is going through a tough period, the fact that you have to highlight everything wrong with the lake since it's inception, just to make a storyline for TV, is just horrible. You are helping to drain the economies of the towns around Okeechobee, just like the media did to my home lake In Texas. You can't blame a lake for a problem this big. Blame the farmers and their chemicals, not lake Okeechobee

[@paizley11]

Did we just watch the same video? Obviously a Lake is not responsible for what stupid humans do to it, or the problems that result. Tough period? Omg.

[@mikeyoungblood1706]

This video and Kait Parker are FULL OF SHIT !!, the sugar Farmers do NOT discharge water from their sugar cane fields into Lake Okeechobee.The water from the farms are discharged into canals that are in turn pumped into the Nutrient Removal System to the East and South of Lake Okeechobee. The Phosphate comes from the North of the Lake from 1000 golf courses and runoff from Disney. Do Your research !!!

[@MamaGator]

TylersReelFishing fuckin MORON. THE TRUTH NEEDS TO BE OUT THERE BECAUSE HEY GUESS WHAT IT SHOULD BE PEOPLE OVER PROFIT AND IT ISNT

[@MamaGator]

TylersReelFishing you are a false local. must not be generational. our future is more important! it isnt the medias fault this is happening

[@benjaminraskin8509]

TylersReelFishing spot on

[@nesiahcoward3864]

Florida is so diverse. Where I live is so different from Miami. I love it

[@KieraCameron514]

The lakes water will go to the coast if it goes through the everglades. It will go to the south coast. Skim the algae off and use it to make biodiesel.

[@scasey1960]

Amazing to see how state leadership as destroyed their local eco-system. People lose to big business.

[@robertgiarla2384]

Hey Weather Channel, can you make a documentary about Lake Okeechobee and how it's resources benefit south Florida? Is that too "Toxic" of me to ask? I was born and raised in West Palm for 23 years and don't appreciate you knocking our lake and the resources it provides us.

[@hansenbros.6777]

With your state leaders now calling for a State of emergency, what benefits does the lake have for SW FL?

[@deeznutz8300]

Robert Giarla same here. 5th generation native born. 36 years. JUP

[@jackmountain8503]

Robert Giarla better than the lie I was told that it's a great place to fish.

[@girlsrockurboyz]

it will never get any better with greedy politicians and corrupt industry

[@ih82r8]

Make the New Yorkers and the other snow birds pay for it.

[@wallywanker7435]

Funny I don’t think they built the dam. But blame it on someone else that’s a good idea.

[@stevewhite6960]

What a stupid fucking comment...

[@fljetgator1833]

Jennifer ...agreed! Over development. Ruined by bringing in foreign soil & other debris to FILL in the swamp..so they could sell to condo buyers

[@ih82r8]

You really can't connect the dots between over-development by snow birds and other people making a mass exodus into Florida, the total increase in poop-ified water, and the problem at hand??

[@fljetgator1833]

Jennifer ...not replying to me I'd guess 😎🚬

[@cynthiahaller6951]

Makes me so sad. What is the current situation?

[@anglingnvirginia1346]

Sorry. But the big O is far from "toxic" as you cAll it

[@KuldeepSingh-er9jg]

bluflim

[@KuldeepSingh-er9jg]

blllll

[@QbanWolfOvertheRoad]

WTH How is it This hasn’t been aired on TV 📺 Everyone Needs to Know.

[@jakesnyder5682]

this video is not accurate at all

[@person4211]

who told you that scott martin?

[@jakesnyder5682]

yes this video is full of lies i have also lived on lake O for 5 year

[@sarahherring1662]

Right? If the lake has caused so "many issues" why isn't the west coast being affected and why is this just now happening? They also don't list the toxic crap that's along the Saint Lucie river itself that has no affiliation with lake Okeechobee. I've lived on the lake for my 24 years of life, and if big sugar is to blame, then this crapload would've started happening years upon years ago. It wouldn't be some brand new issue.

[@jakesnyder5682]

fuck you

[@sarahherring1662]

I hope that isn't directed towards me. Especially with the fact that I agreed with you.

[@StregaBella]

I worked at the former cypress island in 1996 at 18yrs old, our lake in my hometown here in Massachusetts was a huge part of the life of the community with beaches , swimming competitions, windsurfing, sailboats and races and even a yacht club with dances and activities until the 80s when there was pollution dumped in the water and it caused so much damage to the ecosystem they had to stop the activities altogether due to dangerous conditions of the weeds and the contamination to the water and sediment even now its known by any locals as lake quanah polluted. They stopped using the dam that allowed migration of salmon and other water from the lake to feed the wetlands behind where I grew up. Those huge turtles no longer could find it right for their eggs to be laid after centuries of enormous mothers leaving the huge deep lake waters and walking far down into the wetlands to lay baby turtles who grew up to find the way to the lake in their time. I rescued one poor girl who some person had placed in a tiny man made fish or frog pond in the cemetery nearby and people expected the turtle to bite my arm off because of its huge size but I knew it was so grateful to have a way to escape its prison and the second it was free headed for the lake!

[@Debbiesunshinegirl1452]

Kait Parker use to be our local weather girl here in Florida where I live, then she went to the Weather channel.

[@cristianc5312]

Starting to sound like CNN😒 smh.......

[@CBlargh]

I know! It's almost as if all of these outlets aren't in a massive, implausible conspiracy at all, but are simply reporting what's true...

[@JustinGoedeck]

See the algae is in the beach 😂😒these people are so so off on their facts

[@fljetgator1833]

Unixvurse .. you don't understand what the Okeechobee and also the Caloosahatchee river mean to the ecosystem. The watershed feeds into the Gulf & Atlantic. The water is not 'correct / balanced' . The over development is a big part of this sad issue

[@stephenworthington9519]

The fact is that much of this pollution is coming from the coastal areas. Lake Okeechobee pollution is being addressed, but sewage and chemical run off problems on the coast is not.

[@bobmartin7068]

If the government would just quit subsidizing the sugar industry, with billions of taxpayer dollars, US. Sugar would practicaly give the land away, for a tax writoff. There is a huge surplus of sugar , being grown in this country, without government subsidies, the sugar industry would implode.

[@sunburntsilverado7665]

I live in the Florida panhandle and I have lived here for eight years now and this crap is making animals and humans sick! And now the red tide is getting larger and it's coming up to the panhandle now!

[@mkaiser29]

I live in Florida and like EVERYONE IVE talked to just now, we all thought that the flow to the Everglades was ALREADY restored!!!! WTF!! This must change

[@Anon-xd3cf]

Let's get closer and take a sniff of the toxic polluted air over the algae... Smart.

[@Cheeseatingjunlista]

Wow I read that as Lake Okee Chokee ,, the choke part was right tho....

[@captjimMcintyre]

i'm old now, but i will never forget what this place was when I was young and restless to sail away--it would have been hard--now today that's a whole differen't story--something is seriously wrong with this place today, and it ain't just the water, land, air and sea???

[@DEXWrecksOfficial]

Featuring Kait Parker of...WHAT?!?!?

[@briancuddy2001]

I hate are society that thinks this world is supposed to be nice to them.

[@freaker126]

the people need to stand up and call the govt to take action. You attack mother nature, and it would not show you mercy!

[@deborahtrivin819]

45 years on one island or another. Tipping point met. I'm leaving. I can feel the morbidity at the beach.

[@aerostaraircraftsanctuary604]

And now (2023) it's worse than ever, with no plan from Tallahassee or the Governor to fix this serious problem.

[@tifluvsu80]

I live there

[@alanblanes9572]

Thanks to Spencer Wilking and Kait Parker for making this informative video. I hope things are improving since 2016. The people of the world actually have to band together in support of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 which will enable sufficient numbers and adequate strategic organizing to replace oligarch control with genuine policies that advance the public interest. I hope that everyone can latch on to a local contact network for the SDGs and get fully involved. An example of a local contact group in Kelowna British Columbia: bccic.ca/gecco. These local SDG support agencies need to begin to network internationally.

[@scrimmy6969]

The city of Okeechobee has been dumping improperly treated waste water into the lake for years. Sewage also contains a high amount of phosphorus. I am by no means saying big sugar is not also to blame here. There is a huge cover up going on.

[@signlsirchir2156]

Blow Blow Seminole wind blow like you're never gonna blow again.

[@MyPedorro]

"Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost." Thomas Jefferson

[@ScreamingEagleFTW]

emminent domain is a law that was made and should be used for this case. Take the land and pay fair market value. Or just sue them for damages.