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Plans To Save Okeechobee To Be Debated

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Aug 6, 2007 12:17 am US/Eastern

Plans To Save Okeechobee To Be Debated

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WEST PALM BEACH (CBS4) ― The levels are slowly rising at parched Lake Okechobee, but even summer rains have not been enough to end the drought conditions which have endangered Florida's largest lake. This week, water managers will look at ways to get more water into the lake.

Water managers with the South Florida Water Management District are considering a plan to direct run-off water back into the lake for storage, which could raise lake levels but cause a host of other problems.

Critics say runoff water, which usually is directed into canals and eventually to sea, can contain high levels of pesticides and fertilizers which can pollute the lake water and cause problems for wildlife and plants.

The method, called back-pumping, will be addressed in a public forum Wednesday.

Low lake levels cause by drought conditions have forced South Florida residents to endure water restrictions because the lake is a key part of South Florida's back-up water supply.

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