Last week, U.S. Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., toured water management projects around Lake Okeechobee.
The first term congressman joined members of the South Florida Water Management District in taking a tour of the Kissimmee River Restoration Project, the Boma Water Quality Treatment and Testing Facility, the Lake Okeechobee Watershed Project, the Caloosahatchee River West Basin Storage Reservoir and the Herbert Hoover Dike Rehabilitation Project.
This week, Steube weighed in on water quality.
“Water quality is one of the most important issues facing Florida and it’s important for our leaders to be focused on these projects to ensure that our water resources are protected,” said Steube. “These projects serve vital roles in improving our state’s water quality and it is imperative that they are seen through to their completion.”
The congressman’s office stressed the important of these efforts.
“These projects address issues of water restoration to key ecosystems and surrounding wetlands, including the creation of new storage facilities to support the capturing of excess runoff from Lake Okeechobee, and cleaning systems that clean water by removing harmful nutrients before returning it to the watershed,” Steube’s office noted.
“The success of restoration and preservation of America’s Everglades, from top to bottom and coastal estuary to coastal estuary depends on our ability to manage the quality, quantity, timing and distribution of water,” said Ben Butler, a governing board member of the South Florida Water Management District. “The ongoing and future projects that Congressman Steube and I toured are vital for success and can only be had through working relationships at the local, state and federal levels. I look forward to the day of completion and appreciate the congressman’s commitment to success.”
“I would like to thank the South Florida Water Management District for their cooperation and efforts to address our water quality issues,” Steube said this week. “As a fifth-generation Floridian, I am committed to working with local stakeholders at home and in Washington, DC to safeguard our water resources.”
Reach Kevin Derby at kevin.derby@floridadaily.com.
